THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


3 


^ 


Z-^^- 


/f 


PRINCE  OTTO 


BT 

ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON 

AUTHOR   OF   "  TREASURE   ISLAND,"    "  KIDNAPPED,"    "  THE   MASTER 
OF   BALLANTRAE,"    ETC.,    ETC 


CHICAGO 

E.  A.  WEEKS   &   COMPANY 
521-531  Wabash  Avenue 


?K 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I.-PRINCE   ERRANT. 

CHAP.  PAGE. 

I.   In  which  the  Prince  Departs  on  an  Adventure 5 

II.  In  which  the  Prince  Plays  Haroun-al-Raschid 11 

III.  In  which  the  Prince  Comforts  Age  and  Beauty  and 

r3eUvers  a  Lecture  on  Discretion  in  Love 25 

IV.  In  which  the  Prince  Collects  Opinions  by  the  Way.     40 

BOOK  II.-OF  LOVE  AND  POLITICS. 

I.  What  Happened  in  the  Library , 58 

II.  "On  the  Court  of  Griinewald,"  being  a  Portion  of 

the  Travelei-'s  Manuscript 74 

III.  The  Prince  and  the  English  Traveler 83 

IV.  While  the  Prince  is  in  the  Anteroom — 93 

V.  Gondremark  is  in  my  Lady's  Chamber loi 

VI.  The  Prince  Delivers  a  Lecture  on   Marriage,  with 

Practical  Illustrations  of  Divorce in 

VII.  The  Prince  Dissolves  the  Council 124 

VIII.  The  Party  of  War  takes  Action.    i.l7 

IX.  The  Price  of  the  River  Farm  ;  in  which  Vaingio.-, 

goes  before  a  Fall 147 

X.  Gotthold's  Revised  Opinion;  and  the  Fall  Completed  163 


4  CUMlJNlb. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

XI.  Providence  Von   Rosen. — Act  the  First. — She  Be- 
guiles the  Baron 175 

XII.  Providence  Von  Rosen — Act  the  Second. — She  In- 

forms the  Prince 184 

XIII.  Providence  Von  Rosen. — Act  the  Third. — She  En- 

lightens Seraphina 198 

XIV.  Relates  the  Cause  and  Outlireak  of  the  Revolul'on.  208 

BOOK  III —FORTUNATE  MISFORTUNE. 

I.  Princess  Cinderella 223 

II.  Treats  of  a  Christian  Virtue 247 

III.  Providence  Von  Rosen. — Act  the  Last. — In  which 

She  Gallops  off 255 

IV.  Babes  in  the  Wood 267 

Bibliographical  Postscript 277 


PRINCE  OTTO. 


BOOK  I. 
PRINCE  ERRANT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

IX  WHICH  THE  PRINXE  DEPARTS    OX  AX  ADVEXTURE. 

You  shall  seek  in  vain  upon  the  map  of  Europe 
for  the  by-gone  State  of  Griinewald.  An  inde- 
pendent principality,  an  infinitesimal  member  of 
the  German  Empire,  she  played,  for  several  cent- 
uries, her  part  in  the  discord  of  Europe  ;  and,  at 
last,  in  the  ripeness  of  time  and  at  the  spiriting  of 
several  bald  diplomatists,  vanished  like  a  morning 
p-host.  Less  fortunate  than  Poland,  she  left  not 
a  regret  behind  her ;  and  the  very  memory  of  her 
boundaries  has  faded. 

It  was  a  patch  of  hilly  country  covered  with 
thick  wood.  IVIany  streams  took  their  beginning 
in  the  glens  of  Grunewald,  turning  mills  for  the 
inhabitants.  There  was  one  town,  Mittwalden, 
and  many  brown,  wooden  hamlets,  climbing  roof 
above  roof,  along  the  steep  bottom  of  dells,  and 
communicating  by  covered  bridges  over  the  larger 


6  PKTNXK   o'l  ro. 

of  the  torrents.  Thchum  of  water-mills,  the  splash 
of  running  water,  the  clean  odor  of  pine  sawdust, 
the  sound  and  smell  of  the  pleasant  wind  among 
the  innumerable  army  of  the  mountain  pines,  the 
dropping  fire  of  huntsmen,  the  dull  stroke  of  the 
wood-ax,  intolerable  roads,  fresh  trout  for  supper 
in  the  clean  bare  chamber  of  an  inn,  and  the  song 
of  birds  and  the  music  of  the  village-bells — these 
were  the  recollections  of  the  Griuiewald  tourist. 

North  and  cast  the  foothills  of  Griinewald  sunk 
with  varying  profile  into  a  vast  plain.  On  these 
sides  many  small  states  bordered  with  the  princi- 
pality, Gerolstein,  an  extinct  grand  duchy,  among 
the  number.  On  the  south  it  marched  with  the 
comparatively  powerful  kingdom  of  Seaboard 
Bohemia,  celebrated  for  its  flowers  and  mountain 
bears,  and  inhabited  by  a  people  of  singular  sim- 
plicity and  tenderness  of  heart.  Several  inter- 
marriages had,  in  the  course  of  centuries,  united 
the  crowned  families  of  Griinewald  and  maritime 
Bohemia;  and  the  last  Prince  of  Griinewald, 
whose  history  I  purpose  to  relate,  drew  his  descent 
through  Perdita,  the  only  daughter  of  King  Florizel 
the  First  of  Bohemia.  That  these  intermarriages 
had  in  some  degree  mitigated  the  rough,  manly 
stock  of  the  first  Griinewalds,  was  an  opinion 
widely  held  within  the  borders  of  the  principality. 
The  charcoal  burner,  the  mountain  sawyer,  the 
wielder  of  the  broad-ax  among  the  congregated 
pines  of  Griinewald,  proud  of  tluMr  hard  hands, 


PRINCE    OTTO.  7 

proud  of  their  shrewd  ignorance  and  almost 
savage  lore,  looked  with  an  unfeigned  contempt 
on  the  soft  character  and  manners  of  the  sovereign 
race. 

The  precise  year  of  grace  in  which  this  tale 
begins  shall  be  left  to  the  conjecture  of  the  reader. 
But  for  the  season  of  the  year  (which,  in  such  a 
story,  is  the  more  important  of  the  two)  it  was 
already  so  far  forward  in  the  spring,  that  when 
mountain  people  heard  horns  echoing  all  day 
about  the  northwest  corner  of  the  principality, 
they  told  themselves  that  Prince  Otto  and  his 
hunt  were  up  and  out  for  the  last  time  till  the 
-eturn  of  autumn. 

At  this  point  the  borders  of  Griinewald  descend 
somewhat  steeply,  here  and  there  breaking  into 
crags  ;  and  this  shaggy  and  trackless  country 
stands  in  a  bold  contrast  to  the  cultivated  plain 
below.  It  was  traversed  at  that  period  by  two 
roads  alone  ;  one,  the  imperial  highway,  bound 
to  Brandenau  in  Gerolstein,  descended  the  slope 
obliquely  and  by  the  easiest  gradients.  The  other 
ran  like  a  fillet  across  the  very  forehead  of  the 
hills,  dipping  into  savage  gorges,  and  wetted  by 
the  spray  of  tiny  water-falls.  Once  it  passed 
beside  a  certain  tower  or  castle,  built  sheer  upon 
the  margin  of  a  formidable  cliff,  and  commanding 
a  vast  prospect  of  the  skirts  of  Griinewald  and  the 
busy  plains  of  Gerolstein.  The  Felsenburg  (so 
this  tower  was  called)  served  now   as   a  prison. 


8  IMUNCE    OTTO. 

now  as  a  hunting-scat  ;  and  for  all  it  stood  so 
lonesome  to  the  naked  eye,  with  the  aid  of  a 
good  glass  the  burghers  of  Brandenau  couUl  eount 
its  windows  from  the  lime-tree  terrace  where  they 
walked  at  night. 

In  the  wedge  of  forest  hill-side  inclosed  between 
the  roads,  the  horns  continued  all  day  long  to 
scatter  tumult ;  and  at  length,  as  the  sun  began 
to  draw  near  to  the  horizon  of  the  plain,  a  very 
rousing  triumph  announced  the  slaughter  of  the 
([uarry.  The  first  and  second  huntsman  had 
drawn  somewhat  aside,  and  from  the  summit  of 
a  knoll  gazed  down  before  them  on  the  drooping 
shoulders  of  the  hill  and  across  the  expanse  of 
plain.  They  covered  their  eyes,  for  the  sun  was 
in  their  faces.  The  glory  of  its  going  down  was 
somewhat  pale.  Through  the  confused  tracery 
of  many  thousands  of  naked  poplars,  the  smoke 
of  so  many  houses  and  the  evening  steam  ascend- 
ing from  the  fields,  the  sails  of  a  windmill  on  a 
gentle  eminence  moved  very  conspicuously,  like 
a  donkey's  ears.  And  hard  by,  like  an  open 
gash,  the  imperial  high-road  ran  straight  sunward, 
an  artery  of  travel. 

There  is  one  of  nature's  spiritual  ditties,  that 
has  not  yet  been  set  to  words  or  human  music  : 
"  The  Invitation  to  the  Road  ; "'  an  air  continually 
sounding  in  the  ears  of  gypsies,  and  to  whose  in- 
spiration our  nomadic  fathers  journeyed  all  their 
days.      The  hour,  the  season,  and  the  scene,    all 


PRINCE    OTTO.  9 

were  in  delicate  accordance.  The  air  was  full  of 
birds  of  passage,  steering-  westward  and  north- 
ward over  Griincwald,  an  army  of  specks  to  the 
up-looking  eye.  And  below,  the  great  practicable 
road  was  bound  for  the  same  quarter. 

But  to  the  two  horsemen  on  the  knoll  this 
spiritual  ditty  was  unheard.  They  were,  indeed, 
in  some  concern  of  mind,  scanning  every  fold  of 
the  subjacent  forest,  and  betraying  both  anger  and 
dismay  in  their  impatient  gestures. 

"I  do  not  see  him,  Kuno, "'  said  the  first  hunts- 
man, "nowhere — not  a  trace,  not  a  hair  of  the 
mare's  tail  !  No,  sir,  he's  off ;  broke  cover  and 
got  away.  Why,  for  twopence  I  would  hunt  him 
with  the  dogs  !  '' 

"  jMayhap,  he's  gone  home,"  said  Kuno,  but 
without  conviction. 

"Home!"  sneered  the  other.  "I  give  him 
twelve  days  to  get  home.  No,  it's  begun  again  ; 
it's  as  it  was  three  years  ago,  before  he  married  ; 
a  disgrace  !  Hereditary  prince,  hereditary  fool  ! 
There  goes  the  government  over  the  borders  on 
a  gray  mare.  What's  that?  No,  nothing — no, 
I  tell  you,  on  my  word,  I  set  more  store  by  a 
good  gelding  or  an  English  dog.  That  for  your 
Otto  !  " 

"  He's  not  my  Otto,"  growled  Kuno. 

"Then  I  don't  know  whose  he  is,"  was  the 
retort. 


lO  ruIXCE   OTTO. 

"You  would  put  your  hand  in  the  fire  for  him 
to-morrow,"  said  Kuno,  facing-  round. 

"]\Ie!"  cried  the  huntsman.  "I  would  see 
him  hanged  !  I'm  a  Griincwald  patriot  enrolled, 
and  have  my  medal,  too  ;  and  I  would  help  a 
prince  !     I'm  for  liberty  and  Gondremark. " 

"Well,  it's  all  one,"  said  Kuno.  "If  anybody 
said  what  you  said,  you  would  have  his  blood, 
and  you  know  it." 

"  You  have  him  on  the  brain,"  retorted  his  com- 
panion. "There  he  goes!"  he  cried,  the  next 
moment. 

And  sure  enough,  about  a  mile  down  the 
mountain,  a  rider  on  a  white  horse  was  seen  to 
flit  rapidly  across  a  heathy  open  and  vanish  among 
the  trees  on  the  further  side. 

"In  ten  minutes  he'll  be  over  the  border  into 
Gerolstein,"  said  Kuno.      "It's  past  cure." 

"Well,  if  he  founders  that  mare  I'll  never  for- 
give him,"  added  the  other,   gathering  his  reins. 

And  as  they  turned  down  from  the  knoll  to 
rejoin  their  comrades,  the  sun  dipped  and  dis- 
appeared, and  the  woods  fell  instantly  into  the 
gravity  and  grayness  of  the  early  night. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  II 


CHAPTER  II. 

IN    WHICH    THE    PRINXE    PLAYS    HAROUN-AL-RASCHID., 

The  night  fell  upon  the  prince  while  he  was 
threading  green  tracks  in  the  lower  valleys  of  the 
wood  ;  and  though  the  stars  came  out  overhead 
and  displayed  the  interminable  order  of  the  pine- 
tree  pyramids,  regular  and  dark  like  cypresses, 
their  light  was  of  small  service  to  a  traveler  in 
such  lonely  paths,  and  from  thenceforth  he  rode 
at  random.  The  austere  face  of  nature,  the  un- 
certain issue  of  his  course,  the  open  sky  and  the 
free  air,  delighted  him  like  wine  ;  and  the  hoarse 
chafing  of  a  river  on  his  left  sounded  in  his  ears 
agreeably. 

It  was  past  eight  at  night  before  his  toil  was 
rewarded  and  he  issued  at  last  out  of  the  forest 
on  the  firm  white  high-road.  It  lay  downhill 
before  him,  with  a  sweeping  eastward  trend, 
faintly  bright  between  the  thickets ;  and  Otto 
paused  and  gazed  upon  it.  So  it  ran,  league  after 
league,  still  joining  others,  to  the  furthest  ends  of 
Europe,  there  skirting  the  sea-surge,  here  gleam- 
ing in  the  lights  of  cities  ;  and  the  innumerable 
army  of  tramps  and  travelers  moved  upon  it  in  all 
lands  as  by  a  common  impulse,  and  were  now  in 


12  PRINCE   OTTO. 

all  places  ilrawiiig'  near  to  the  inn  door  and  the 
night's  rest.  The  pictures  swarmed  and  vanished 
in  his  brain  ;  a  surge  of  temptation,  a  beat  of  all 
his  blood,  went  over  him,  to  set  spur  to  the  marc 
and  to  go  on  into  the  unknown  forever.  And  then 
it  passed  away  ;  hunger  and  fatigue,  and  that 
habit  of  middling  actions  which  we  call  common 
sense,  resumed  their  empire;  and  in  that  changed 
mood  his  eye  lighted  upon  two  bright  windows 
on  his  left  hand,  between  the  road  and  river. 

He  turned  off  by  a  by-road,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  he  was  knocking  with  his  whip  on  the 
door  of  a  large  farm-house,  and  a  chorus  of  dogs 
from  the  farm-yard  were  making  angry  answer. 
A  very  tall,  old,  white-headed  man  came,  shading 
a  candle,  at  the  summons.  He  had  been  of  great 
strength  in  his  time,  and  of  a  handsome  coun- 
tenance ;  but  now  he  vi^as  fallen  away,  his  teeth 
were  quite  gone,  and  his  voice  when  he  spoke 
was  broken  and  falsetto. 

"You  will  pardon  me,"  said  Otto.  "lam  a 
a  traveler,  and  have  entirely  lost  my  way." 

"Sir,"  said  the  old  man,  in  a  very  stately, 
shaky  manner,  "  you  arc  at  the  River  Farm,  and 
I  am  Killian  Gottesheim,  at  your  disposal.  We 
are  here,  sir,  at  about  an  equal  distance  from 
Mittwalden  in  Griinewald  and  Brandenau  in 
Gerolstein  ;  six  leagues  to  cither,  and  the  road 
excellent  ;  but  tlicrc  is  not  a  wine-bush,  not  a 
carter's  ale-house,  auvwhcre  betwci'u.      Von   will 


PRINCE   OTTO.  13 

have  to  accept  my  hospitality  for  the  night ;  rough 
hospitahty,  to  which  I  make  you  freely  welcome  ; 
for,  sir,"  he  added,  with  a  bow,  "it  is  God  who 
sends  the  guest. " 

"Amen.  And  I  most  heartily  thank  you,"  re- 
plied Otto,  bowing  in  his  turn. 

"Fritz,"  said  the  old  man,  turning  toward  the 
interior,  "lead  round  this  gentleman's  horse; 
and  you,  sir,  condescend  to  enter." 

Otto  entered  a  chamber  occupying  the  greater 
part  of  the  ground-floor  of  the  building.  It  had 
probably  once  been  divided  ;  for  the  further  end 
was  raised  by  a  long  step  above  the  nearer,  and 
the  blazing  fire  and  the  white  supper-table  seemed 
to  stand  upon  a  dais.  All  round  were  dark,  brass- 
mounted  cabinets  and  cupboards  ;  dark  shelves 
carrying  ancient  country  crockery ;  guns  and 
antlers  and  broadside  ballads  on  the  wall ;  a  tall 
old  clock  with  roses  on  the  dial  ;  and  down  in 
one  corner  the  comfortable  promise  of  a  wine 
barrel.      It  was  homely,  elegant,  and  quaint. 

A  powerful  youth  hurried  out  to  attend  on  the 
gray  mare  ;  and  when  ]\Ir.  Killian  Gottesheim  had 
presented  him  to  his  daughter  Ottilia, Otto  followed 
to  the  stable  as  became,  not  perhaps  the  prince, 
but  the  good  horseman.  When  he  returned,  a 
smokine  omelet  and  some  slices  of  home-cured 
ham,  were  waiting  him  ;  these  were  followed  by 
a  ragout  and  a  cheese  ;  and  it  was  not  until  his 
guest  had  entirely  satisfied  his  hunger,    and  the 


14  PRINCE   OTTO. 

whole  party  drew  about  the  fire  over  the  wine 
jug,  that  KiUian  Gottesheim's  elaborate  courtesy 
permitted  him  to  address  a  question  to  the  prince. 

"You  have  perhaps  ridden  far,  sir.?"  he  in- 
quired. 

"  I  have,  as  you  say,  ridden  far,"  replied  Otto  ; 
"and,  as  you  have  seen,  I  was  prepared  to  do 
justice  to  your  daughter's  cookery." 

"  Possibly,  sir,  from  the  direction  of  Bran- 
denau  ?  "  continued  Killian. 

' '  Precisely  ;  and  I  should  have  slept  to-night, 
had  I  not  wandered,  in  INIittwalden,"  answered 
the  prince,  weaving  in  a  patch  of  truth,  accord- 
ing to  the  habit  of  all  liars. 

"  Business  leads  you  to  Mittwalden  ?  "  was  the 
next  question. 

"Mere  curiosit)',"  said  Otto.  "  I  have  never 
yet  visited  the  principality  of  Griinewald. " 

"A  pleasant  state,  sir,"  piped  the  old  man, 
nodding,  "a  very  pleasant  state,  and  a  fine  race, 
both  pines  and  people.  We  reckon  ourselves  part 
Griinewalders  here,  lying  so  near  the  borders,  and 
the  river  there  is  all  good  Griinewald  water,  every 
drop  of  it.  Yes,  sir,  a  fine  state.  A  man  of 
Griinewald  now  will  swing  me  an  a.x  over  his 
head  that  many  a  man  of  Gerolstcin  could  hardly 
lift,  and  the  pines,  why,  deary  me,  there  must  be 
more  pines  in  that  little  state,  sir,  than  people  in 
this  whole  big  w^orld.  'Tis  twenty  years  now 
since  I  crossed  the  marclics,  for  we  grow  home- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  15 

keepers  in  old  age  ;  but  I  mind  it  as  if  it  was 
yesterday.  Up  and  down,  the  road  keeps  right 
on  from  here  to  INIittwalden  ;  and  nothing  all  the 
way  but  the  good  green  pine-trees,  big  and  little, 
and  water  power  !  water  power  at  every  step,  sir. 
We  once  sold  a  bit  of  forest,  up  there  beside  the 
high-road  ;  and  the  sight  of  minted  money  that 
we  got  for  it  has  set  me  ciphering  ever  since 
what  all  the  pines  in  Griinewald  would  amount 
to." 

"  I  suppose  you  see  nothing  of  the  prince.'*" 
inquired  Otto. 

"No,"  said  the  young  man,  speaking  for  the 
first  time,  "norwantto. " 

"Why  so?  is  he  so  much  disliked.''"  asked 
Otto. 

"  Not  what  you  might  call  disliked,"  replied  the 
old  gentleman,  "but  despised,  sir." 

"Indeed,"  said  the  prince,  somewhat  faintly. 

"Yes,  sir,  despised,"  nodded  Killian,  filling  a 
long  pipe,  "and,  to  my  way  of  thinking,  justly 
despised.  Here  is  a  man  with  great  opportuni- 
ties, and  what  does  he  do  with  them  ?  He  hunts 
and  he  dresses  very  prettily,  which  is  a  thing  to 
be  evshamed  of  in  a  man,  and  he  acts  plays  ;  and 
if  he  does  aught  else,  the  news  of  it  has  not  come 
here." 

"Yet  these  are  all  innocent,"  said  Otto. 
"What  would  you  have  him  do — make  war.?" 

"No,  sir, "  replied  the  old  man.      "But   here  it 


l6  I'KINCL    OTTO. 

is  ;  I  have  been  fifty  years  upon  this  River  Farm, 
and  wrought  in  it,  day  in,  day  out ;  I  have 
plowed  and  sowpd  and  reaped,  and  risen  early, 
and  waked  late  ;  and  this  is  the  upshot  :  that  all 
these  years  it  has  supported  me  and  my  family;  and 
been  the  best  friend  that  ever  I  had,  set  aside  my 
wife  ;  and  now,  when  my  time  comes,  I  leave  it 
a  better  farm  than  when  I  found  it.  So  it  is,  if  a 
man  works  hearty  in  the  order  of  nature  ;  he  gets 
bread  and  he  receives  comfort,  and  whatever  he 
touches  breeds.  And  it  humbly  appears  to  me  if 
that  prince  was  to  labor  on  his  throne,  as  I  have 
labored  and  wrought  in  my  farm,  he  would  find 
both  an  increase  and  a  blessing.'' 

"I  believe  with  you,  sir,"  Otto  said;  and  yet 
the  parallel  is  inexact.  For  the  farmer's  life  is 
natural  and  simple  ;  but  the  prince's  is  both  arti- 
ficial and  complicated.  It  is  easy  to  do  right  in 
the  one,  and  exceedingly  difficult  not  to  do  wrong 
in  the  other.  If  your  crop  is  blighted,  you  can 
take  off  your  bonnet  and  say,  '  God's  will  be 
done  ;  '  but  if  the  prince  meets  with  a  reverse,  he 
may  have  to  blame  himself  for  the  attempt.  And 
perhaps,  if  all  the  kings  in  Europe  were  to  con- 
fine themselves  to  innocent  amusement,  the  sub- 
jects would  be  better  off.'' 

"Ay,"  said  the  young  man  Fritz,  "you  are  in 
the  right  of  it  there.  That  was  a  true  word 
spoken.  And  I  see  you  are  like  me,  a  good  pa- 
triot and  an  enemy  to  princes. " 


PRINCE   OTTO.  17 

Otto  was  somewhat  abashed  at  this  deduction, 
and  he  made  haste  to  change  his  ground.  "  But,'' 
said  he,  "you  surprise  me  by  what  you  say  of 
this  Prince  Otto.  I  have  heard  him,  I  must  own, 
more  favorably  painted.  I  was  told  he  was,  in 
his  heart,  a  good  fellow,  and  the  enemy  of  no  one 
but  himself. " 

"And  so  he  is,  sir,"  said  the  girl,  "a  very 
handsome,  pleasant  prince  ;  and  we  know  some 
who  would  shed  their  blood  for  him.'' 

"Oh!       Kuno  !  "     said   Fritz.       "An    ijrnora- 


't>' 


mus  ! 

"  Ay,  Kuno,  to  be  sure,"  quavered  the  old  farmer. 
"  Well,  since  this  gentleman  is  a  stranger  to  these 
parts,  and  curious  about  the  prince,  I  do  believe 
that  story  might  divert  him.  This  Kuno,  you 
must  know,  sir,  is  one  of  the  hunt  servants,  and 
a  most  ignorant,  intemperate  man  ;  a  right 
Griinewalder.  as  we  say  in  Gerolstcin.  We  know 
him  well,  in  this  house;  for  he  has  come  as  far 
as  here  after  his  stray  dogs  :  and  I  make  all  wel- 
come, sir,  without  account  of  state  or  nation. 
And,  indeed,  between  Gerolstein  and  Griinewald 
the  peace  has  held  so  long  that  the  roads  stand 
open  like  my  door,  and  a  man  will  make  no 
more  of  the  frontier  than  the  very  birds  them- 
selves. " 

"Ay,''  said  Otto,    "  it  has  been  a  long  peace — 

a  peace  of  centuries.  " 

■"Centuries,    as    you    say,"     returned    Killian  ; 
2  ' 


I  8  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"  the  more  the  pity  that  it  should  not  be  forever. 
Well,  sir,  this  Kuno  was  one  clay  in  fault,  and 
Otto,  who  has  a  quick  temper,  up  with  his  whip 
and  thrashed  him,  they  do  say,  soundly.  Kuno 
took  it  as  best  he  could,  but  at  last  he  broke  out, 
and  dared  the  prince  to  throw  his  whip  away  and 
wrestle  like  a  man  ;  for  we  are  all  great  at  wres- 
tlincr  in  these  parts,  and  it's  so  that  we  generally 
settle  our  disputes.  Well,  sir,  the  prince  did  so  ; 
and  being  a  weakly  creature,  found  the  tables 
turned  ;  for  the  man  whom  he  had  just  been 
thrashing  like  a  negro  slave,  lifted  him  with  a  back 
grip  and  threw  him  heels  overhead." 

"  He  broke  his  bridle-arm,"  cried  Fritz — "and 
some  say  his  nose.  Serve  him  right,  say  I  ! 
Man  to  man,  which  is  the  better  at  that.'*" 

"And  then  ?  "  asked  Otto. 

"Oh,  then  Kuno  carried  him  home  ;  and  they 
were  the  best  of  friends  from  that  day  forth.  I 
don't  say  it's  a  discreditable  story,  you  observe,'' 
continued  ]\Ir.  Gottesheim  ;  "but  it's  ilroll,  and 
that's  the  fact.  A  man  should  think  before  he 
strikes  ;  for,  as  my  nephew  says,  man  to  man 
was  the  old  valuation." 

"  Now,  if  you  were  to  ask  me,"  said  Otto,  "  I 
should  perhaps  surprise  you.  I  think  it  was  the 
prince  that  conquered." 

"And,  sir,  you  would  l)e  right,"  replied  Killian, 
seriously.      "In  the  eyes  of  Ood,  I  do  not  (jues- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  19 

tion  but  you  would  be  right  ;  but  men,  sir,  look 
at  these  things  differently,  and  they  laugh." 

"They  made  a  song  of  it,"  observed  Fritz. 
"  How  does  it  go?     Ta-tum-ta-ra — " 

"Well,"    interrupted   Otto,   who  had  no  great 
anxiety  to  hear  the  song,   "  the  prince  is  young  ;■ 
he  may  yet  mend." 

"Not  so  young,  by  your  leave,"  cried  Fritz. 
"  A  man  of  forty."' 

"Thirty-six,"  corrected  Mr.  Gottesheim. 

"Oh,"  cried  Ottilia,  in  obvious  disillusion,  "a 
man  of  middle  age  !  And  they  said  he  was  so 
handsome  when  he  was  young  !  " 

"And  bald,  too,"  added  Fritz. 

Otto  passed  his  hand  among  his  locks.  At  that 
moment  he  was  far  from  happy,  and  even  the 
tedious  evenings  at  Mittwalden  Palace  began  to 
smile  upon  him  by  comparison. 

"  Oh,  six-and-thirty  !  "  he  protested.  "A  man 
is  not  yet  old  at  six-and-thirty.  I  am  that  age 
myself. " 

"  I  should  have  taken  you  for  more,  sir,"  piped 
the  old  farmer.  "But  if  that  be  so,  you  are  of  an 
age  with  IMastcr  Ottekin,  as  people  call  him  ; 
and,  I  would  wager  a  crown,  have  done  more 
service  in  your  time.  Though  it  seems  young  by 
comparison  witli  men  of  a  great  age  like  me,  yet 
it's  some  way  through  life  for  all  tliat  ;  and  the 
mere  fools  and  fiddlers  are  beginning  to  grow 
weary    and  to  look  old.      Yes,    sir,    by    six-anu- 


20  I'klXLli    OTTO. 

thirty,  if  a  man  be  a  follower  of  God's  laws,  he 
should  have  made  himself  a  home  and  a  good 
name  to  live  by  ;  he  should  have  got  a  wife  and 
a  blessing  on  his  marriage  ;  and  his  works,  as  the 
Word  says,  should  begin  to  follow  him."' 

"Ah,  well,  the  prince  is  married,"  cried  Fritz, 
with  a  coarse  burst  of  laughter. 

"That  seems  to  entertain  you,  sir,''  said  Otto. 

"Ay,"  said  the  young  boor.  "Did  you  not 
know  that  ?  I  thought  all  Europe  knew  it !  " 
And  he  added  a  pantomime  of  a  nature  to  explain 
his  accusation  to  the  dullest. 

"  Ah,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Gottesheim,  "  it  is  very  plain 
that  you  are  not  from  hereabouts  !  But  tlie  truth 
is,  that  the  whole  princely  family  and  court  are 
rips  and  rascals,  not  one  to  mend  another.  They 
live,  sir,  in  idleness  and — what  most  commonly 
ollows  it — corruption.  The  princess  has  a  lover  ; 
a  baron,  as  he  calls  himself,  from  East  Prussia. 
Nor  is  that  the  worst  of  it,  for  this  foreigner  and 
his  paramour  are  suffered  to  transact  the  State 
affairs,  while  the  prince  takes  the  salary  and 
leaves  all  things  to  go  to  wrack.  There  will 
follow  upon  this  some  manifest  judgment  which, 
though  I  am  old,  I  may  survive  to  see." 

"Good  man,  you  arc  in  the  wrong  about  (ion- 
dremark,"  said  Fritz,  showing  a  greatly  increased 
animation  ;  "but  for  all  the  rest,  you  speak  the 
God's  truth  like  a  good  patriot.      As  for  the  prince, 


PRINCE   OTTO.  21 

if  he  would  take  and  strangle  his  wife,  I  would 
forgive  him  yet." 

"Nay,  Fritz,"  said  the  old  man,  "that  would 
be  to  add  iniquity  to  evil.  For  you  perceive, 
sir,"  he  .continued,  once  more  addressing  himself 
to  the  unfortunate  prince,  "this  Otto  has  himself 
to  thank  for  these  disorders.  He  has  his  young 
wife  and  his  principality,  and  he  has  sworn  to 
cherish  both." 

"Sworn  at  the  altar!"  echoed  Fritz.  "But 
put  your  faith  in  princes  !  '' 

"Well,  sir,  he  leaves  them  both  to  an  ad- 
venturer from  East  Prussia,"  pursued  the  farmer  ; 
"leaves  the  girl  to  be  seduced  and  to  go  on  from 
bad  to  worse,  till  her  name's  become  a  tap-room 
by-word,  and  she  not  yet  twenty  ;  leaves  the 
country  to  be  overtaxed,  and  bullied  with  arma- 
ments, and  jockeyed  into  war — " 

"War!"  cried  Otto. 

"  So  they  say,  sir;  those  that  watch  their  on- 
goings, say  to  war, "  asseverated  Killian.  "Well, 
sir,  that  is  very  sad  ;  it  is  a  sad  thing  for  this 
poor,  wicked  girl  to  go  down  to  hell  with  people's 
curses  ;  it's  a  sad  thing  for  a  tight  little  happy 
country  to  be  misconducted;  but  whoever  may 
complain,  I  humbly  conceive,  sir,  that  this  Otto 
can  not.  What  he  has  worked  for,  that  he  has 
got ;  and  may  God  have  pity  on  his  soul,  for  a 
great  and  a  silly  sinner's  !  " 

"  He  has  broke  his  oath  ;  then  he  is  a  perjurer. 


22  PRTXCE    OTTO. 

He  takes  the  money  and  leaves  the  work  ;  why, 
then  phiinly  he's  a  thief.  A  cuckold  he  was  be- 
fore, and  a  fool  by  birtli.  Better  me  that  !  "  cried 
Fritz,  and  snapped  his  fingers. 

"And  now,  sir,  you  willseea  little,"  continued 
the  farmer,  "why  we  think  so  poorly  of  this 
Prince  Otto.  There's  such  a  thing  as  a  man  being 
pious  and  honest  in  the  private  way  ;  and  there 
is  such  a  thing,  sir,  as  a  public  virtue  ;  but  when 
a  man  has  neither,  the  Lord  lighten  him  !  Even 
this  Gondremark,  that  Fritz  here  thinks  so  much 
of—" 

"Ay,"  interrupted  Fritz,  "  Gondremark's  the 
man  for  me.  I  would  we  had  his  like  in 
Gerolstein." 

"  He  is  a  bad  man,"  said  the  old  farmer,  shak- 
ing his  head  ;  "  and  there  was  never  good  begun 
by  the  breach  of  God's  commandments.  But  so 
far  I  will  go  with  you  :  he  is  a  man  that  works  for 
what  he  has. " 

"  I  tell  you  he's  the  hope  of  Griinewald,"  cried 
Fritz.  "He  doesn't  suit  some  of  your  high-and- 
dry,  old,  ancient  ideas  ;  but  he's  a  downright 
modern  man — a  man  of  the  new  lights  and  the 
progress  of  the  age.  He  does  some  things  wrong  ; 
so  they  all  do  ;  but  he  has  the  people's  interests 
next  his  heart  ;  and  you  mark  me — )'Ou,  sir,  who 
are  a  Liberal,  and  the  enemy  of  all  their  govern- 
ments, you  please  to  mark  my  words — the  day 
will  come  in  Griinewald,  when  they  take  out  that 


PRINCE    OTTO.  23 

yellow-headed  skulk  of  a  prince  and  that  dough- 
faced  ]\Iessalina  of  a  princess,  march  "em  back 
foremost  over  the  borders,  and  proclaim  the 
Baron  Gondremark  first  president.  I've  heard 
them  say  it  in  a  speech.  I  was  at  a  meeting  once 
at  Brandenau,  and  the  ■Nlittwalden  delegates  spoke 
up  for  fifteen  thousand.  Fifteen  thousand,  all 
brieaded,  and  each  man  with  a  medal  round  his 
neck  to  rally  by.     That's  all  Gondremark." 

"Ay,  sir,  you  see  what  it  leads  to  :  wild  talk 
to-day,  and  wilder  doings  to-morrow,"  said  the 
old  man.  "For  there  is  one  thing  certain  :  that 
this  Gondremark  has  one  foot  in  the  court  back- 
stairs, and  the  other  in  the  Masons'  lodges.  He 
gives  himself  out,  sir,  for  what  nowadays  they 
call  a  patriot — a  man  from  East  Prussia  !  " 

"Give  himself  out  1  "  cried  Fritz.  "He  is! 
He  is  to  lay  by  his  title  as  soon  as  the  Republic  is 
declared  ;  1  heard  it  in  a  speech." 

"  Lay  by  baron  to  take  up  president .'  '  returned 
Killian,  "King  Log,  King  Stork.  But  you'll 
live  longer  than  I,  and  you  will  see  the  fruits 
of  it." 

"Father,"  whispered  Ottilia,  pulling  at  the 
speaker's  coat,   "  surely  the  gentleman  is  ill." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  cried  the  farmer,  rewaking 
to  hospitable  thoughts  ;  "  can  I  offer  you  any- 
thing ?  " 

"I  thank  you.  I  am  very  weary,"  answered 
Otto.      "  I  have  presumed  upon  my  strength.     If 


24  rRTNCE    OTTO. 

ymi  would  show  mc  to  a  1)C(1,  I  sliould  lie  grate- 
ful." 

"Ottilia,  a  candle  !  ■'  said  the  old  man.  "In- 
deed, sir,  you  look  pale.  A  little  cordial  water  ? 
No  ?  Then  follow  me,  I  beseech  you,  and  I  will 
bring-  you  to  the  stranger's  bed.  You  arc  not  the 
first  by  many  who  has  slept  well  below  my  roof,'' 
continued  the  old  gentleman,  mounting  the  stairs 
before  his  guest  ;  "for  good  food,  honest  wine, 
a  grateful  conscience,  and  a  little  pleasant  chat 
before  a  man  retires,  are  worth  all  the  possets 
and  apothecary's  drugs.  See,  sir,"  and  here  he 
opened  a  door  and  ushered  Otto  into  a  little 
whitewashed  sleeping-room,  "  here  you  are  in 
port.  It  is  small,  but  it  is  airy,  and  the  sheets  are 
clean  and  kept  in  lavender.  The  window,  too, 
looks  out  above  the  river,  and  there's  no  music 
like  a  little  river's.  It  jdays  the  same  tune  (and 
that's  the  favorite)  over  and  over  again,  and  yet 
does  not  weary  of  it  like  men  fiddlers.  It  takes 
the  mind  out-of-doors  ;  and  though  we  should  be 
grateful  for  good  houses,  there  is,  after  all,  no 
house  like  God's  out-of-doors.  And  lastly,  sir,  it 
quiets  a  man  down  like  saying  his  prayers.  So 
here,  sir,  I  take  my  kind  le'ave  of  you  until  to- 
morrow ;  and  it  is  my  prayerful  wish  that  you 
may  slumber  like  a  prince." 

And  the  old  man,  with  the  twentieth  courteous 
inclination,  left  his  guest  alone. 


PRIAXE   OTTO.  25 


CHAPTER  III. 

IN  WHICH  THE  PRINXE  COMFORTS    AGE    AND    BEAUTY    AND 
DELIVERS  A  LECTURE  ON  DISCRETION  IN  LOVE. 

The  prince  was  early  abroad  ;  in  the  time  of 
the  first  chorus  of  birds,  of  the  pure  and  quiet  air, 
of  the  slanting  sunlight  and  the  mile-long  shadows. 
To  one  who  had  passed  a  miserable  night,  the 
freshness  of  that  hour  was  tonic  and  reviving  ;  to 
steal  a  march  upon  his  slumbering  fellows,  to  be 
the  Adam  of  the  coming  day,  composed  and 
fortified  his  spirits  ;  and  the  prince,  breathing 
deep  and  pausing  as  he  went,  walked  in  the  wet 
fields  beside  his  shadow,  and  was  glad. 

A  trellised  path  led  down  into  the  valley  of  the 
brook,  and  he  turned  to  follow  it.  The  stream 
was  a  break-neck,  boiling  highland  river.  Hard 
by  the  farm,  it  leaped  a  little  precipice  in  a  thick 
gray-mare's  tail  of  twisted  filaments,  and  then  lay 
and  worked  and  bubbled  in  a  lin.  Into  the  middle 
of  this  quaking  pool  a  rock  protruded,  shelving  to 
a  cape  ;  and  thither  Otto  scrambled  and  sat  down 
to  ponder. 

Soon  the  sun  struck  through  the  screen  of 
branches  and  thin  early  leaves  that  made  a  hanging 
bower  above  the  fall  ;  and  the  golden  lights  and 


26  PRINCE   OTTO. 

flitting  shadows  fell  upon  and  marbled  the  surface 
of  that  seething  pot  ;  and  rays  plunged  deep 
among  the  turning  waters  ;  and  a  spark,  as  bright 
as  a  diamond,  lit  upon  the  swaying  eddy.  It 
began  to  grow  warm  where  Otto  lingered,  warm 
and  heady  ;  the  lights  swam,  weaving  their  maze 
across  the  shaken  pool  ;  on  the  impending  rock, 
reflections  danced  like  butterflies  ;  and  the  air  was 
fanned  by  the  water-fall  as  by  a  swinging  cur- 
tain. 

Otto,  who  was  weary  with  tossing  and  beset 
with  horrid  phantoms  of  remorse  and  jealousy 
instantly  fell  dead  in  love  with  that  sun-checkered, 
echoing  corner.  Holding  his  feet,  he  stared  out 
of  a  drowsy  trance,  wondering,  admiring,  musing, 
losing  his  way  among  uncertain  thoughts.  There 
is  nothing  that  so  apes  the  external  bearing  of  free 
will  as  that  unconscious  bustle,  obscurely  follow- 
ing liquid  laws,  with  which  a  river  contends 
among  obstructions.  It  seems  the  very  play  of 
man  and  destiny,  and  as  Otto  pored  on  these 
recurrent  changes,  he  grew,  by  equal  steps,  the 
sleepier  and  the  more  profound.  Eddy  and  prince 
were  alike  jostled  in  their  purpose,  alike  anchored 
by  intangible  influences  in  one  corner  of  the  world. 
Eddy  and  prince  were  alike  useless,  starkly 
useless,  in  the  cosmology  of  men.  Eddy  and 
prince — prince  and  eddy. 

It  is  probable  he  had  been  some  while  asleep 
when  a  voice  recalled  liini  from  oblivion.      "  Sir," 


PRINCE   OTTO.  27 

it  was  sayintj;  and  looking  round,  he  saw  Mr. 
Killian's  daug-hter,  terrified  by  her  boldness  and 
making  bashful  signals  from  the  shore.  She  was 
a  plain,  honest  lass,  healthy  and  happy  and  good, 
and  with  that  sort  of  beauty  that  comes  of  hap- 
piness and  health.  But  her  confusion  lent  her  for 
the  moment  an   additional  charm. 

"Good-morning, "said  Otto,  rising  and  moving 
toward  her.  "I  arose  early  and  was  in  a  dream." 
' '  Oh,  sir  !  "  she  cried,  "  I  wish  to  beg  of  you  to 
spare  my  father  ;  for  I  assure  your  highness,  if  he 
had  known  who  you  was,  he  would  have  bitten 
his  tongue  out  sooner.  And  Fritz,  too — how  he 
went  on  !  But  I  had  a  notion  ;  and  this  morning 
I  went  straight  down  into  the  stable,  and  there 
was  your  highness's  crown  upon  the  stirrup-irons  ! 
But,  oh,  sir,  I  made  certain  you  would  spare 
them  ;  for  they  were  as  innocent  as  lambs." 

"  i\Iy  dear,"  said  Otto,  both  amused  and  grati- 
fied, "you  do  not  understand.  It  is  I  who  am 
in  the  wrong;  for  I  had  no  business  to  conceal 
my  name  and  lead  on  these  gentlemen  to  speak 
of  me.  And  it  is  I  who  have  to  beg  of  you  that 
you  will  keep  my  secret  and  not  betray  the  dis- 
courtesy of  which  I  was  guilty.  As  for  any  fear 
of  me,  vour  friends  are  safe  in  Gerolstein  ;  and 
even  in  my  own  territory,  you  must  be  well  aware 
I  have  no  power." 

"Oh,  sir,"  she  said,  courtesying.  "I  would  not 
say  that  :  the  huntmen  would  all  die  for  you." 


28  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"Happy  prince!"  said  Otto.  "Hut  although 
you  are  too  courteous  to  avow  the  knowledge, 
you  have  had  many  opportunities  of  learning  that 
I  am  a  vain  show.  Only  last  night  we  heard  it 
very  clearly  stated.  You  see  the  shadow  flitting 
on  this  hard  rock.  Prince  Otto,  I  am  afraid,  is 
but  the  moving  shadow,  and  the  name  of  the 
rock  is  Gondremark.  Ah  !  if  your  friends  had 
fallen  foul  of  Gondremark  !  But  happily  the 
younger  of  the  two  admires  him.  And  as  for  the 
old  gentleman,  your  father,  he  is  a  wise  man  and 
an  excellent  talker,  and  I  would  take  a  long  wager 
he  is  honest. " 

"Oh,  for  honest,  your  highness,  that  he  is!" 
exclaimed  the  girl.  "And  Fritz  is  as  honest  as 
he.  And  as  for  all  tliey  said,  it  was  just  talk  and 
nonsense.  When  country-folk  get  gossiping, 
they  go  on,  I  do  assure  you,  for  the  fun  ;  they 
don't  as  much  as  think  of  what  they  say.  If  you 
went  to  the  next  farm,  it's  my  belief  you  would 
hear  as  much  against  my  father." 

"Nay,  nay,"  said  Otto,  "there  you  go  too 
fast.      For  all  that  was  said  against  Prince  Otto — " 

"  Oh,  it  was  shameful !  "  cried  the  girl. 

"Not  shameful— true,"  returned  Otto.  "Oh, 
yes — true.  I  am  all  they  said  of  me — all  that  and 
worse. " 

"I  never!"  cried  Ottilia.  "Is  that  how  you 
do  ?  Well,  you  would  never  be  a  soldier.  Now 
if  any  one  accuses  me,  I  get  up  ;uid  give  it  them. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  29 

Oh,  I  defend  myself.  I  wouldn't  take  a  fault  at 
another  person's  hands,  no,  not  if  I  had  it  on  my 
forehead.  And  that's  what  you  must  do,  if  you 
mean  to  live  it  out.  But,  indeed,  I  never  heard 
such  nonsense.  I  should  think  you  Avas  ashamed 
of  yourself!     You're  bald  then,  I  suppose  .' '' 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Otto,  fairly  laughing.  "There 
I  acquit  myself :  not  bald  !  " 

"Well,  and  good  !  "  pursued  the  girl.  "Come 
now,  you  know  you  are  good,  and  111  make  you 
say  so —  Your  highness,  I  beg  your  humble 
pardon.  But  there's  no  disrespect  intended. 
And  anyhow,  you  know  you  are." 

"  Why,  now,  what  am  I  to  say  ?  "  replied  Otto. 
"You  are  a  cook,  and  excellently  well  you  do  it ; 
I  embrace  the  chance  of  thanking  you  for  the 
ragout.  Well  now,  have  you  not  seen  good  food 
so  bedeviled  by  unskillful  cookery,  that  no  one 
could  be  brought  to  eat  the  pudding  ?  That  is 
me,  my  dear.  I  am  full  of  good  ingredients,  but 
the  dish  is  worthless.  I  am — I  give  it  you  in  one 
word — sugar  in  the  salad. " 

"Well,  I  don't  care,  you're  good,''  reiterated 
Ottilia,  a  little  flushed  by  having  failed  to  under- 
stand. 

"I  will  tell  you  one  thing,"  replied  Otto. 
'*  You  are  !  " 

"Ah,  well,  that's  what  they  all  said  of  you," 
moralized  the  girl:  "such  a  tongue  to  come 
round— such  a  flattering  tongue  !  ' 


30  TRINCE   OTTO. 

"Oh,  you  forget,  T  am  a  man  of  middle  age," 
the  prince  chuckled. 

"  Well,  to  speak  to  you,  I  should  think  you  was 
a  boy  ;  and  prince  or  no  prince,  if  you  came 
worrying-  where  I  was  cooking,  I  would  pin  a 
napkin  to  your  tails —  And,  O  Lord,  I  declare  I 
hope  your  highness  will  forgive  me,"  the  girl 
added.      "  I  can't  keep  it  in  my  mind." 

"No  more  can  I,"  cried  Otto.  "  That  is  just 
what  they  complain  of  !  " 

They  made  a  loverly  looking  couple  ;  only  the 
heavy  pouring  of  that  horse-tail  of  water  made 
them  raise  their  voices  above  lovers'  pitch.  r)ut 
to  a  jealous  on-looker  from  above,  their  mirth  and 
close  proximity  might  easily  give  umbrage  ;  and 
a  rough  voice  out  of  a  tuft  of  brambles  began 
calling  on  Ottilia  by  name.  She  changed  color 
at  that.      "It  is  Fritz,"  she  said.      "I  must  go. " 

"Go,  my  dear,  aiid  I  need  not  bid  you  go  in 
peace,  for  I  think  you  have  discovered  that  I  am 
not  formidable  at  close  ciuarters,"  said  the  prince, 
and  made  her  a  fine  gesture  of  dismissal. 

So  Ottilia  skipped  up  the  bank,  and  disappeared 
into  the  thicket,  stopping  once  for  a  single  blush- 
ing bob — blushing,  because  she  had  in  the  inter- 
val once  more  forgotten  and  remembered  the 
stranger's  quality. 

Otto  returned  to  his  rock  i)romontory  ;  but  his 
humor  had  in  the  meantime  changed.  The  sun 
now  shone   more  fairl)-  on  the  pool  ;    and  o\'er  its 


PRINCE   OTTO.  31 

brown,  welling  surface,  the  blue  of  heaven  and  the 
golden  green  of  the  spring  foliage  danced  in  fleet- 
ing arabesque.     The  eddies  laughed  and  bright- 
ened with  essential  color.     And  the  beauty  of  the 
'  dell  began   to  rankle  in  the  prince's  mind  :  it  was 
so  near  to  his  own  borders,  yet  without.      He  had 
never  had  much  of  the  joy  of  possessorship  in  any 
of  the  thousand    and  one  beautiful  and   curious 
things  that  were  his  ;    and  now  he  was  conscious 
of  envy  for  what  was  another's.      It  was,  indeed, 
a  smiling,   dilettante  sort  of  envy  ;  but  yet  there 
it  was  :    the  passion  of  Ahab  for   the  vineyard, 
done  in    little  ;    and   he  was  relieved  when   Mr. 
Killian  appeared  upon  the  scene. 

"I  hope,  sir,  that  you  have  slept  well  under 
my  plain  roof,"  said  the  old  farmer. 

"I  am  admiring  this  sweet  spot  that  you  are 
privileged  to  dwell  in,"  replied  Otto,  evading  the 
inquiry. 

"It  is  rustic,"  returned  Mr.  Gottesheim,  look- 
ing around  him  with  complacency,  "a  very 
rustic  corner  ;  and  some  of  the  land  to  the  west 
is  most  excellent  fat  land,  excellent  deep  soil. 
You  should  see  my  wheat  in  the  ten-acre  field. 
There  is  not  a  farm  in  Griinewald,  no,  nor  many 
in  Gerolstein,  to  match  the  River  Farm.  Some 
sixty — I  keep  thinking  when  I  sow — some  sixty, 
and  some  seventy,  and  some  an  hundred-fold  ; 
and  my  own  place,  six  score  !  But  that,  sir,  is 
partly  the  farming." 


32  PRIN'CE   OTTO. 

"  And  the  stream  has  fish  ?  "  asked  Otto. 

"  A  fish-pond, "  said  the  farmer.  "Ay,  it  is  a 
pleasant  bit.  It  is  pleasant  even  here,  if  one  had 
time,  with  the  brook  drumming  in  that  black 
pool,  and  the  green  things  hanging  all  about  the 
rocks,  and,  dear  heart,  to  see  the  very  pebbles  ! 
all  turned  to  gold  and  precious  stones  !  But  you 
have  come  to  that  time  of  life,  sir,  when,  if  you 
will  excuse  me,  you  must  look  to  have  the 
rheumatism  set  in.  Thirty  to  forty  is,  as  one  may 
say,  their  seed-time.  And  this  is  a  damp  cold 
corner  for  the  early  morning  and  an  empty 
stomach.  If  I  might  humbly  advise  you,  sir,  I 
would  be  moving." 

"With  all  my  heart,"  said  Otto,  gravely. 
"And  so  you  have  lived  your  life  here.''"  he 
added,  as  they  turned  to  go. 

"  Here  I  was  born,"  replied  the  farmer,  "and 
here  I  wish  I  could  say  I  was  to  die.  But  fortune, 
sir,  fortune  turns  the  wheel.  They  say  she  is  blind, 
but  we  will  hope  she  only  sees  a  little  further  on. 
My  grandfather  and  my  father  and  I,  we  have  all 
tilled  these  acres,  my  furrow  following  theirs. 
All  the  three  names  arc  on  the  garden  bench,  two 
Killians  and  one  Johann.  Yes,  sir,  good  men 
have  prepared  themselves  for  the  great  change  in 
my  old  ganlen.  Well  do  I  mind  my  father,  in  a 
woolen  night-cap,  the  good  soul,  going  round  and 
round  to  sec  tlic  l;ist  of  it.  "  Killian,'  said  he, 
•do    you  see  the  smoke  of  my  tobacco  ?      Why,' 


PRINCE   OTTO.  33 

said  he,  '  that  is  man's  life. '  It  was  his  last 
pipe,  and  I  believe  he  knew  it ;  and  it  was  a 
strange  thing-,  without  doubt,  to  leave  the  trees 
that  he  had  planted,  and  the  son  that  he  had 
begotten,  ay,  sir,  and  even  the  old  pipe  with  the 
Turks  head  that  he  had  smoked  since  he  was  a 
lad  and  went  a-courting.  But  here  we  have  no 
continuing  city  ;  and  as  for  the  eternal,  it's  a 
comfortable  thought  that  we  have  other  merits 
than  our  own.  And  yet  you  would  hardly  think 
how  sore  it  goes  against  the  grain  with  me,  to 
die  in  a  strange  bed." 

"And  must  you  do  so  ?  For  what  reason?" 
Otto  asked. 

"The  reason.'  The  place  is  to  be  sold  ;  three 
thousand  crowns,"  replied  ]Mr.  Gottesheim. 
"  Had  it  been  a  third  of  that,  I  may  say  without 
boasting  that,  what  with  my  credit  and  my 
savings,  I  could  have  met  the  sum.  But  at  three 
thousand,  unless  I  have  singular  good  fortune 
and  the  new  proprietor  continues  me  in  office, 
there  is  nothing  left  me  but  to  budge."' 

Otto's  fancy  for  the  place  redoubled  at  the  news, 
and  became  joined  with  other  feelings.  If  all  he 
heard  were  true,  Griinewald  was  growing  very 
hot  for  a  sovereign  prince  ;  it  might  be  well  to 
have  a  refuge  ;  and  if  so,  what  more  delightful 
hermitage  could  man  imagine?  JMr.  Gottesheim, 
besides,  had  touched  his  sympathies.  Every 
man  loves  in  his  soul  to  play  the  part  of  the  stage 
3 


34  rKlXCK    UTTO. 

deity.  And  to  step  down  to  the  aid  of  the  old 
farmer,  who  had  so  roughly  handled  him  in  talk, 
was  the  ideal  of  a  Fair  Revenge.  Otto's  thoughts 
brightened  at  the  prospeet,  and  he  began  to  re- 
gard himself  with  a  renewed  respect. 

"I  can  find  you,  I  believe,  a  purchaser,"  he 
said,  "  and  one  who  would  continue  to  avail 
himself  of  your  skill." 

"Can  you,  sir,  indeed.''"  said  the  old  man. 
"Well,  I  shall  be  heartily  obliged  ;  for  I  begin  to 
find  a  man  may  practice  resignation  all  his  days, 
as  he  takes  physic,  and  not  come  to  like  it  in  the 
end." 

"  If  you  will  have  the  papers  drawn,  you  may 
even  burden  the  purchase  with  your  interest,"  said 
Otto.      "  Let  it  be  assured  to  you  through  life." 

"Your  friend,  sir, "  insinuated  Killian,  "would 
not,  perhaps,  care  to  make  the  interest  revertible.'' 
Fritz  is  a  good  lad. " 

"  Fritz  is  young, "  said  the  prince  dryly;  "he 
must  earn  consideration,  not  inherit." 

"He  has  long  worked  upon  the  i)lace,  sir," 
in.sistcd  Mr.  Gottesheim  ;  "and  at  my  great  age, 
for  I  am  seventy-eight  come  harvest,  it  would  be 
a  troublesome  thought  to  the  proprietor  how  to 
fill  my  shoes.  It  Avould  be  a  care  spared  to 
assure  yourself  of  Fritz.  And  I  believe  he  might 
be  tempted  by  a  permanency." 

"The  young  man  has  unsettled  views,"  returned 
Otto. 


PRINCE    OTTO.  35 

"  Possibly  the  purchaser — "  began  Kilhan. 

A  httle  spot  of  anger  burned  in  Otto's  cheek. 
''I  am  the  purchaser,"  he  said. 

"  It  was  what  I  might  have  guessed,"  repHed 
the  farmer,  bowing  with  an  aged,  obsequious 
dignity.  "You  have  made  an  old  man  very 
happy  ;  and  I  may  say,  indeed,  that  I  have  en- 
tertained an  angel  unawares.  Sir,  the  great 
people  of  this  world — and  by  that  I  mean  those 
who  are  great  in  station — if  they  had  only  hearts 
like  yours,  how  they  would  make  the  fires  burn 
and  the  poor  sing  !  " 

"I  would  not  judge  them  hardly,  sir,"  said 
Otto.      "  We  all  have  our  frailties." 

"Truly,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Gottesheim  with  unction. 
"And  by  what  name,  sir,  am  I  to  address  my 
generous  landlord  ?  " 

The  double  recollection  of  an  English  traveler, 
whom  he  had  received  the  week  before,  at  court,  and 
of  an  old  English  rogue  called  Transome,  whom 
he  had  known  in  youth,  came  pertinently  to  the 
prince's  help.  "Transome,"  he  answered,  "is 
my  name.  I  am  an  English  traveler.  "It  is, 
to-day,  Tuesday.  On  Thursday  before  noon, 
the  money  shall  be  ready.  Let  us  meet,  if  you 
please,  in  Mittwalden,  at  the  'INIorning  Star.'  ' 

"I  am,  in  all  things  lawful,  your  servant  to 
command,"  replied  the  farmer.  "An  English- 
man !  You  are  a  great  race  of  travelers.  And 
has  your  lordship  some  experience  of  land?  " 


36  PRINC1-:  err  TO. 

"I  have  had  some  interest  of  tlic  kind  before," 
returned  the  prince  ;  "  not  in  Gerolstein,  indeed. 
But  fortune,  as  you  say,  turns  the  wheel,  and  I 
desire  to  be  beforehand  with  her  revolutions." 

"  Very  right,  sir,  I  am  sure,"  said  Mr.  Killian. 

They  had  been  strolling-  with  deliberation  ;  but 
they  were  now  drawing  near  to  the  farm-house, 
mounting  by  the  treliised  pathway  to  the  level  of 
the  meadow.  A  little  before  them,  the  sound  of 
voices  had  been  some  while  audible,  and  now 
grew  louder  and  more  distinct  with  every  step  of 
their  advance.  Presently,  when  they  emerged 
upon  the  top  of  tlie  bank,  they  beheld  Fritz  and 
Ottilia  some  way  off;  he,  very  black  and  blood- 
shot, emphasizing  his  hoarse  speech  with  the 
smacking  of  his  fist  against  his  palm  ;  slie,  stand- 
ing a  little  way  off  in  blowsy,  voluble  distress. 

"Dear  me!"'  said  ]\Ir.  Gottesheim,  and  made 
as  if  he  would  turn  aside. 

But  Otto  went  straight  toward  the  lovers,  in 
whose  dissension  he  belicA^ed  himself  to  have  a 
share.  And,  indeed,  as  soon  as  he  had  seen  the 
prince,  Fritz  had  stood  tragic,  as  if  awaiting  and 
defying  his  approach. 

'  Oh,  here  you  are  !  "  he  cried,  as  soon  as  they 
were  near  enough  for  easy  speech.  "  You  are  a 
man  at  least,  and  must  reply.  What  were  you 
after.''  Why  were  you  two  skulking  in  the  bush  ? 
God  !  "  he  broke  out,  turning  again  upon  Ottilia, 
"to  think  that  I  should  waste  my  heart  on  you  !  " 


PRINCE   OTTO.  37 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  Otto  cut  in.  "  You 
were  addressing  me.  In  virtue  of  what  circum- 
stance am  I  to  render  you  an  account  of  this 
lady's  conduct  ?  Are  you  her  father  ?  her  brother  ? 
her  husband  ? '' 

"  Oh,  sir,  you  know  as  well  as  I,''  returned  the 
peasant.  "We  keep  company,  she  and  I.  I 
love  her,  and  she  is  by  way  of  loving  me  ;  but  all 
shall  be  above-board,  I  would  have  her  to  know. 
I  have  a  good  pride  of  my  own." 

"Why,  sir,  I  perceive  I  must  explain  to  you 
what  love  is,"  said  Otto.  "Its  measure  is  kind- 
ness. It  is  very  possible  that  you  are  proud  ;  but 
this  lady,  too,  may  have  some  self-esteem  ;  I  do 
not  speak  for  myself.  And  perhaps,  if  your  own 
doings  were  so  curiously  examined,  you  might 
find  it  inconvenient  to  reply." 

"  These  are  all  set-offs, "  said  the  young  man. 
"You  know  very  well  that  a  man  is  a  man,  and 
a  woman  only  a  woman.  That  holds  good  all 
over,  up  and  down.  I  ask  you  a  question,  I  ask 
it  again,  and  here  I  stand."  He  drew  a  mark  and 
toed  it. 

"When  you  have  studied  liberal  doctrines  some- 
what deeper,"  said  the  prince,  "  you  will  perhaps 
change  your  note.  You  are  a  man  of  false 
weights  and  measures,  my  young  friend.  You 
have  one  scale  for  women,  another  for  men  ;  one 
for  princes  and  one  for  farmer-folk.  On  the  prince 
who  neglects  his  wife  you  can  be  most  severe. 


38  PRINXE   OTTO. 

But  what  of  the  lovcrwho  insults  his  mistress?  Vou 
use  the  name  of  love.  I  should  think  this  lady 
might  very  fairly  ask  to  be  delivered  from  love  of 
such  a  nature.  For  if  I,  a  stranger,  had  been  one- 
tenth  part  so  gross  and  so  discourteous,  you  would 
most  righteously  have  broken  my  head.  It  would 
have  been  in  your  part,  as  lover,  to  protect  her 
from  such  insolence.  Protect  her  first,  then, 
from  yourself." 

"Ay,"  quoth  Mr.  Gottesheini,  who  had  been 
looking  on  with  his  hands  behind  his  tall  old 
back,  "Ay,  that's  Scripture  truth. " 

Fritz  was  staggered,  not  only  by  the  prince's 
imperturbable  superiority  of  manner,  but  by  a 
glimmering  consciousness  that  he  himself  was  in 
the  wrong.  The  appeal  to  liberal  doctrines  had, 
besides,  unmanned  him. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "if  I  was  rude,  Pll  own  to  it. 
I  meant  no  ill.  and  tlid  nothing  out  of  my  just 
rights ;  but  I  am  above  all  these  old  vulgar 
notions,  too  ;  and  if  I  spoke  sharp  Pll  ask  her 
pardon. " 

"  Freely  granted,  Fritz,"  said  Ottilia. 

"But  all  this  doesn't  answer  me,"  cried  Fritz. 
"I  ask  what  you  two  spoke  about.  She  says  she 
promised  not  to  tell  ;  well,  then,  I  mean  to  know. 
Civility  is  civility  ;  but  I'll  be  no  man's  gull.  I 
have  a  right  to  common  justice,  if  I  do  keep 
company  !  " 

"  If  you  will  ask  Mr.  Gottesheim,"  replied  Otto, 


PRINCE    OTTO.  39 

"you  will  find  I  have  not  spent  my  hours  in 
idleness.  I  have,  since  I  arose  this  morning-, 
agreed  to  buy  the  farm.  So  far  I  will  go  to  satisfy 
a  curiosity  which  I  condemn.'' 

"Oh,  well,  if  there  was  business,  that's  another 
matter,"  returned  Fritz.  "Though  it  beats  me 
why  you  could  not  tell.  But,  of  course,  if  the 
gentleman  is  to  buy  the  farm,  I  suppose  there 
would  naturally  be  an  end." 

"To  be  sure,"  said  jNIr.  Gottesheim,  with  a 
strong  accent  of  conviction. 

But  Ottilia  was  much  braver.  "There  now  !  " 
she  cried  in  triumph.  "  What  did  I  tell  you.'  I 
told  you  I  \vas  fighting  your  battles.  Now  you 
"see  !  Think  shame  of  your  suspicious  temper  ! 
You  should  go  down  upon  your  bended  knees 
both  to  that  gentleman  and  me." 


40  PRINXE    OTTO. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IN  WHICH  THE  PRINCE    COLLECTS    OPINIONS  BY  THE  WAY. 

A  LITTLE  before  noon  Otto,  by  a  triumph  of 
maneuvering,  effected  his  escape.  He  was  quit 
in  this  way  of  the  ponderous  gratitude  of  Mr. 
Killian,  and  of  the  confidential  gratitude  of  poor 
Ottiha  ;  but  of  Fritz  he  was  not  quit  so  readily. 
That  young  politician,  brimming  with  mysterious 
glances,  offered  to  lend  his  convoy  as  far  as  to 
thehigh-road  ;  and  Otto,  in  fear  of  some  residuary 
jealousy  and  for  the  girl's  sake,  had  not  the  cour- 
age to  gainsay  him  ;  but  he  regarded  his  com- 
panion with  uneasy  glances,  and  devoutly  wished 
the  business  at  an  end.  For  some  time  Fritz 
walked  by  the  mare  in  silence ;  and  they  had 
already  traversed  more  than  half  the  proposed 
distance  when,  with  something  of  a  blush,  he 
looked  up  and  opened  fire. 

"Are  you  not,"  he  asked,  "what  they  call  a 
socialist  ?  " 

"Why,  no,  "returned  Otto,  "not  precisely  what 
they  call  so.     Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

"I  will  tell  you  why,"  said  the  young  man. 
"I  saw  from  the  first  that  you  were  a  red  progrcs- 
sional.  and  nothing  but  the  fear  of  old  Killian  kept 


PRINCE   OTTO.  41 

you  back.  And  there,  sir,  you  were  right  ;  old 
men  are  always  cowards.  But  nowadays,  you 
see,  there  are  so  many  groups  ;  you  can  never 
tell  how  far  the  likeliest  kind  of  man  may  be 
prepared  to  go  ;  and  I  was  never  sure  you  were 
one  of  the  strong  thinkers,  till  you  hinted  about 
women  and  free  love. " 

"  Indeed,"  cried  Otto,  "  I  never  said  a  word  of 
such  a  tiling." 

"Not  you!"  cried  Fritz.  "Never  a  word  to 
compromise  !  You  was  sowing  seed  :  a  ground- 
bait,  our  president  calls  it.  But  it's  hard  to  de- 
ceive me,  for  1  know  all  the  agitators  and  their 
ways,  and  all  the  doctrines  ;  and  between  you 
and  me,"  lowering  his  voice,  "  I  am  myself  affili- 
ated. Oh,  yes,  I  am  a  secret-society  man,  and 
here  is  my  medal."  And  drawing  out  a  green 
ribbon  that  he  wore  about  his  neck,  he  held  up, 
for  Otto's  inspection,  a  pewter  medal  bearing  the 
imprint  of  a  Phoenix  and  the  legend,  Liherias. 
"  And  so  now  you  see  you  may  trust  me,"  added 
Fritz.  "  I  am  none  of  your  ale-house  talkers  ;  I 
am  a  convinced  revolutionary."  And  he  looked 
meltingly  upon  Otto. 

"I  see,"  replied  the  prince;  "that  is  very 
gratifying.  Well,  sir,  the  great  thing  for  the  good 
of  one's  country  is,  first  of  all,  to  be  a  good  man. 
All  springs  from  there.  For  my  part,  although 
you  are  right  in  thinking  that  I  have  to  do  with 
politics,  I  am  unfit  by  intellect  and  temper  for  a 


42  PRINCE   OTTG. 

leading  role.  I  was  iiitcncuHl,  I  fear,  for  a  sub;d- 
tcrn.  Yet  we  have  all  something  to  command, 
j\Ir.  Fritz,  if  it  be  only  our  own  temper  ;  and  a 
man  about  to  marry  must  look  closely  to  himself. 
The  husband's,  like  the  prince's,  is  a  very  artificial 
standing ;  and  it  is  hard  to  be  kind  in  either.  Do 
you  follow  that  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  follow  that,"  replied  the  young 
man,  sadly  chop-fallen  over  the  nature  of  the 
information  he  had  elicited  ;  and  then  brightening 
up:  "Is  it,"  he  ventured,  "is  it  for  an  arsenal 
that  you  have  bought  the  farm  ? " 

"We'll  see  about  that,"'  the  prince  answered, 
laughing.  "You  must  not  be  too  zealous.  And 
in  the  meantime,  if  I  were  you,  I  would  say 
nothing  on  the  subject." 

"Oh,  trust  me,  sir,  for  that,"  cried  Fritz,  as  he 
pocketed  a  crown.  "  And  you've  let  nothing  out; 
for  I  suspected — I  might  say  I  knew  it — from  the 
first.  And  mind  you,  when  a  guide  is  required," 
he  added,   "  I  know  all  the  forest  paths." 

Otto  rode  away,  chuckling.  This  talk  with 
Fritz  had  vastly  entertained  him  ;  nor  was  he 
altogether  discontented  with  his  bearing  at  the 
farm  ;  men,  he  was  able  to  tell  himself,  had  be- 
haved worse  under  smaller  provocation.  And,  to 
harmonize  all,  the  road  and  the  April  air  were 
both  delightful  to  his  soul. 

Up  and  down,  and  to  and  fro,  ever  mounting 
through  tlic  wooded  foot-hills,  the  broad,   white 


PRINCE   OTTO.  43 

hisrh-road  wound  onward  into    Griinewald.     On 

o 

either  hand  the  pines  stood  coolly  rooted — green 
moss  prospering,  springs  welling  forth  between 
their  knuckled  spurs ;  and  though  some  were 
broad  and  stalwart,  and  others  spiry  and  slender, 
yet  all  stood  firm  in  the  same  attitude  and  with 
the  same  expression,  like  a  silent  army  presenting 
arms. 

The  road  lay  all  the  way  apart  from  towns  and 
villaees,  which  it  left  on  either  hand.  Here  and 
there,  indeed,  in  the  bottom  of  green  glens,  the 
prince  could  spy  a  fevv'  congregated  roofs,  or  per- 
haps above  him,  on  a  shoulder,  the  solitary  cabin 
of  a  woodman.  But  the  highway  was  an  inter- 
national undertaking,  and  with  its  face  set  for 
distant  cities,  scorned  the  little  life  of  Griinewald. 
Hence  it  was  exceeding  solitary.  Near  the 
frontier  Otto  met  a  detachment  of  his  own  troops 
marching  in  the  hot  dust ;  and  he  was  recognized 
and  somewhat  feebly  cheered  as  he  rode  by. 
But  from  that  time  forth  and  for  a  long  while  he 
was  alone  with  the  great  woods. 

Gradually  the  spell  of  pleasure  relaxed  ;  his  own 
thoughts  returned,  like  stinging  insects,  in  a 
cloud  ;  and  the  talk  of  the  night  before,  like  a 
shower  of  buffets,  fell  upon  his  memory.  He 
looked  east  and  west  for  any  comforter ;  and 
presently  he  was  aware  of  a  cross-road  coming 
steeply  down  the  hill,  and  a  horseman  cautiously 
descending.     A  human  voice  or  presence,  like  a 


44  PRINCE   OTTO. 

spring-  in  the  desert,  was  now  welcome  in  itself, 
and  Otto  drew  bridle  to  await  the  coming  ot"  this 
stranger.  He  proved  to  be  a  very  red-faced, 
thick-lipped  countryman,  with  a  pair  of  fat  saddle- 
bags and  a  stone  bottle  at  his  waist  ;  who,  as 
soon  as  the  prince  hailed  him,  jovially,  if  some- 
what thickly,  answered.  At  the  same  time  he 
gave  a  beery  yaw  in  the  saddle.  It  was  clear  his 
bottle  was  no  longer  full. 

"  Do  you  ride  toward  INIittwalden  ?  "  asked  the 
prince. 

"As  far  as  the  cross-road  toTannenbrunn,"the 
man  replied.      "Will  you  bear  company  ?  " 

"With  pleasure.  I  have  even  waited  for  you 
on  the  chance,"  answered  Otto. 

By  this  time  they  were  close  alongside  ;  and 
the  man,  with  the  country-folk  instinct,  turned 
his  cloudy  vision  first  of  all  on  his  companion's 
mount.  "The  devil!"  he  cried.  "You  ride  a 
bonny  mare,  friend !  "  And  then,  his  curiosity 
being  satisfied  about  the  essential,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  that  merely  secondary  matter,  his 
companion's  face.  He  started.  "The  prince!" 
he  cried,  saluting,  with  another  yaw  that  came 
near  dismounting  him.  "I  beg  your  pardon, 
your  highness,  not  to  have  reco'nized  you  at 
once." 

The  prince  was  vexed  out  of  his  self-possession. 
"Since  you  know  me, "  he  said,  "it  is  unneces- 
sary we  would  ride  together.     I  will  precede  you, 


PRINCE   OTTO.  45 

if  you  please."  And  he  was  about  to  set  spur  to 
the  gray  mare,  when  the  half-drunken  fellow, 
reaching  over,  laid  his  hand  upon  the  rein. 

"Hark  you,"  he  said,  "prince  or  no  prince, 
that  is  not  how  one  man  should  conduct  himself 
with  another.  What !  You'll  ride  with  me  in- 
cog, and  set  me  talking  !  But  if  I  know  you, 
youU.preshede  me,  if  you  please  !  Spy!"  And 
the  fellow,  crimson  with  drink  and  injured  vanity, 
almost  spat  the  word  into  the  prince's  face, 

A  horrid  confusion  came  over  Otto.  He  per- 
ceived that  he  had  acted  rudely,  grossly  presum- 
ing on  his  station.  And  perhaps  a  little  shiver  of 
physical  alarm  mingled  with  his  remorse,  for  the 
fellow  was  very  powerful,  and  not  more  than  half 
in  the  possession  of  his  senses.  "Take  your 
hand  from  my  rein,"  he  said,  with  a  sulBcient 
assumption  of  command ;  and  when  the  man, 
rather  to  his  wonder,  had  obeyed  :  "You  should 
understand,  sir,"  he  added,  "that  while  I  might 
be  glad  to  ride  with  you  as  one  person  of  sagacity 
with  another,  and  so  receive  your  true  opin- 
ions, it  would  amuse  me  very  little  to  hear  the 
empty  comphments  you  would  address  to  me  as 

prince." 

"You  think  I  would  lie,  do  you?"  cried  the 
man  with  the  bottle,  purpling  deeper. 

"I  know  you  would,"  returned  Otto,  entering 
entirely  into  his  self-possession.  "You  would 
not  even  show  me  the   medal  you  wear   about 


46  PRINCE   OTTO. 

your  neck."     For  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  a 
green  ribbon  at  the  fellow's  throat. 

The  change  was  instantaneous  ;  the  red  face 
became  mottled  with  yellow  ;  a  thick-fingered, 
tottering  hand  made  a  clutch  at  the  tell-tale  rib- 
bon. '"IMedal!"  the  man  cried,  wonderfully 
sobered.      "I  have  no  medal." 

"Pardon  me,"  said  the  prince.  "I  will  even 
tell  you  what  that  medal  bears  :  a  Phoenix  burn- 
ing, with  the  word  Libcrtas."  The  medalist  re- 
maining speechless,  "You  are  a  pretty  fellow," 
continued  Otto,  smiling,  "to  complain  of  in- 
civility from  the  man  whom  you  conspire  to 
murder.  ' 

"IMurder!"  protested  the  man.  "Nay,  never 
that ;  nothing  criminal  for  me  !  " 

"You  are  strangely  misinformed,"  said  Otto. 
"Conspiracy  itself  is  criminal,  and  insures  the 
pain  of  death.  Nay,  sir,  death  it  is  ;  I  will  guar- 
antee my  accuracy.  Not  that  you  need  be  so 
deplorably  affected,  for  I  am  no  oflicer.  But 
those  who  mingle  with  politics  should  look  at 
both  sides  of  the  medal." 

"Your  Highness — "  began  the  knight  of  the 
bottle. 

"  Nonsense  !  you  are  a  Republican,"  cried 
Otto;  "what  have  you  to  do  with  highnesses.' 
But  let  us  continue  to  ride  forward.  .Since  you 
so  much  desire  it,  I  cannot  find  it  in  my  heart  to 
deprive  you  of  my  company.     And  for  that  mat- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  47 

ter,  have  a  question  to  address  to  you.  Why,, 
being  so  great  a  body  of  men — for  you  are  a  great 
body — fifteen  thousand,  I  have  heard,  but  that 
will  be  understated  ;  am  I  right  ?  " 

The  man  gurgled  in  his  throat. 

"Why,  then,  being  so  considerable  a  party," 
resumed  Otto,  "do  you  not  come  before  me 
boldly  with  your  wants.'— what  do  I  say,  with 
your  commands.'  Have  I  the  name  of  being 
passionately  devoted  to  my  throne  ?  I  can  scarce 
suppose  it.  Come,  then  ;  show  me  your  majority, 
and  I  will  instantly  resign.  Tell  this  to  your 
friends  ;  assure  them  from  me  of  my  docility  ;  as- 
sure them  that,  however  they  conceive  of  my  de- 
ficiencies, they  cannot  suppose  me  more  unfit  to 
be  a  ruler  than  I  do  myself  I  am  one  of  the 
worst  princes  in  Europe  ;  will  they  improve  on 
that  ?  " 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  " — the  man  began. 

"See,  now,  if  you  will  not  defend  my  govern- 
ment !  "  cried  Otto.  "Oh,  sir,  if  I  were  you,  I 
would  leave  conspiracies.  You  are  as  httle  fit 
to  be  a  conspirator  as  I  to  be  a  king." 

"One  thing  I  will  say  out,"  said  the  man.  "It 
is  not  so  much  you  that  we  complain  of;  it's 
your  lady." 

"Not  a  word,  sir,"  said  the  prince  ;  and  then 
after  a  moment's  pause,  and  in  tones  of  some 
anger  and  contempt  :  "I  once  more  advise  you 
to   have   done   with    politics,"   he  added;    "and 


48  PRINCE   OTTO. 

when  next  I  see  you,  let  me  see  you  sober.  A 
morning  drunkard,  sir,  is  the  last  man  to  sit  in 
judgment  even  upon  the  worst  of  princes." 

"  I  have  had  a  drop,  but  I  have  not  been  drink- 
ing," the  man  replied,  triumphing  in  a  sound 
distinction.  "And  if  I  had,  wl  at  then  ?  Nobody 
hangs  by  me.  But  my  mill  is  standing  idle,  and 
I  blame  it  on  your  wife.  Am  I  alone  in  that.-* 
Go  round  and  ask.  Where  are  the  mills.'*  Where 
are  the  young  men  that  should  be  working? 
Where  is  the  currency  ?  All  paralyzed.  No,  sir, 
it  is  not  equal ;  for  I  suffer  for  your  faults — I  pay 
for  them,  by  George,  out  of  a  poor  man's  pocket. 
And  what  have  you  to  do  with  mine  ?  Drunk  or 
sober,  I  can  see  my  country  going  to  hell,  and  I 
can  see  whose  fault  it  is.  And  so  now,  I've  said  my 
say,  and  you  may  drag  me  to  a  stinking  dungeon  ; 
what  care  I .''  I've  spoke  the  truth,  and  so  I'll 
hold  hard,  and  not  intrude  upon  your  Highness' 
society." 

And  the  miller  reined  up  and,  clumsily  enough, 
saluted. 

"You  will  observe,  I  have  not  asked  your 
name,"  said  Otto.  "I  wish  you  a  good  ride," 
and  he  rode  on  hard.  But  lot  him  ride  as  he 
pleased,  this  interview  with  the  miller  was  a 
choke-pear,  which  he  could  not  swallow.  lie 
had  begun  by  receiving  a  reproof  in  manners  and 
ended  by  sustaining  a  defeat  in  logic,  both  from 
a  man  whom  he  despised.     All  his  old  thoughts 


PRINCE   OTTO.  49 

returned  with  fresher  venom.  And  by  three  in 
the  afternoon,  coming  to  the  cross-roads  for 
Beckstein,  Otto  decided  to  turn  aside  and  dine 
there  leisurely.  Nothing  at  least  could  be  worse 
than  to  go  on  as  he  was  going. 

In  the  inn  at  Beckstein  he  remarked,  immedi- 
ately upon  his  entrance,  an  intelligent  young 
gentleman  dining,  with  a  book  in  front  of  him. 
He  had  his  own  place  laid  close  to  the  reader, 
and  with  a  proper  apology,  broke  ground  by  ask- 
ing what  he  read. 

"I  am  perusing,"  answered  the  young  gentle- 
man, "  the  last  work  of  the  Herr  Doctor  Hohen- 
stockwitz,  cousin  and  librarian  of  your  prince 
here  in  Griinewald — a  man  of  great  erudition  and 
some  lambencies  of  wit." 

"  I  am  acquainted,"  said  Otto,  "  with  the  Herr 
Doctor,  though  not  yet  with  his  work." 

"  Two  privileges  that  I  must  envy  you,"  replied 
the  young  man,  politely  ;  "an  honor  in  hand,  a 
pleasure  in  the  bush." 

"The  Herr  Doctor  is  a  man  much  respected,  I 
believe,  for  his  attainments?  "  asked  the  prince. 

"He  is,  sir,  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  force 
of  intellect,"  replied  the  reader.  "Who  of  our 
young  men  know  anything  of  his  cousin,  all 
reigning  prince  although  he  be.''  Who  but  has 
heard  of  Doctor  Gotthold  ?  But  intellectual 
merit,  alone  of  all  distinctions,  has  its  base  in 
nature. " 
4 


50  I'RIXCK    OTTO. 

"I  have  the  gratification  of  addressing  a  stu- 
dent— perhaps  an  author?"  Otto  suggested. 

The  young  man  somewhat  flushed.  "  I  have 
some  claim  to  both  distinctions,  sir,  as  you  sup- 
pose," said  he;  "there  is  my  card.  I  am  the 
Hcentiate  Roederer,  author  of  several  works  on 
the  theory  and  practice  of  politics. " 

"You  immensely  interest  me,"  said  the  prince; 
"  the  more  so  as  I  gather  that  here  in  Griinewald 
we  are  on  the  brink  of  revolution.  Pray,  sir, 
since  these  have  been  your  special  studies,  would 
you  augur  hopefully  of  such  a'movcmcnt.''  " 

"I  perceive/'  said  the  young  author,  with  a 
certain  vinegary  twitch,  "that  you  are  unac- 
quainted with  my  opuscula.  I  am  a  convinced 
authoritarian.  I  share  none  of  those  illusory, 
Utopian  fancies  with  which  empirics  blind  them- 
selves and  exasperate  the  ignorant.  The  day  of 
these  ideas  is,  believe  me,  past,  or  at  least  pass- 
ing." 

"When  I  look  about  mc — "  began  Otto. 

"When  you  look  about  you,"  interrupted  the 
licentiate,  "  you  behold  the  ignorant.  But  in  the 
laboratory  of  opinion,  beside  the  studious  lamp, 
we  begin  already  to  discard  these  figments.  We 
begin  to  return  to  nature's  order,  to  what  I  might 
call,  if  I  were  to  borrow  from  the  language  of 
therapeutics,  the  expectant  treatment  of  abuses. 
You  will  not  misunderstand  me,"  he  continued  : 
"A   counti"}'   ill    tlic  coiulilion   in    which    wc   find 


PRINCE   OTTO.  51 

Griinewald,  a  prince  such  as  your  Prince  Otto,  we 
must  explicitly  condemn  ;  they  are  behind  the 
age.  But  I  would  look  for  a  remedy  not  to  brute 
convulsions,  but  to  the  natural  supervenience  of 
a  more  able  sovereign.  I  should  amuse  you,  per- 
haps," added  the  licentiate,  with  a  smile,  "I 
think  I  should  amuse  you  if  I  were  to  explain  my 
notion  of  a  prince.  We  who  have  studied  in  the 
closet  no  longer,  in  this  age,  propose  ourselves 
for  active  service.  The  paths,  we  have  perceived 
are  incompatible.  I  would  not  have  a  student  on 
the  throne,  though  I  would  have  one  near  by  for 
an  adviser.  I  would  set  forward  as  prince  a  man 
of  a  good,  medium  imderstanding,  lively  rather 
than  deep  ;  a  man  of  courtly  manner,  possessed 
of  the  double  art  to  ingratiate  and  to  command  ; 
receptive,  accommodating,  seductive.  I  have 
been  observing  you  since  your  first  entrance. 
Well,  sir,  were  I  a  subject  of  Griinewald  I  should 
pray  Heaven  to  set  upon  the  seat  of  government 
just  such  another  as  yourself." 

"The  devil  you  would  !"  exclaimed  the  prince. 

The  licentiate  Roederer  laughed  most  heartily. 
"I  thought  I  should  astonish  you,"  he  said. 
"These  are  not  the  ideas  of  the  masses." 

"They  are  not,  I  can  assure  you,"  Otto  said. 

"Or  rather,"  distinguished  the  licentiate,  "  not 
to-day.  The  time  will  come,  however,  when 
these  ideas  shall  prevail." 

"  You  will  permit  me,  sir,  to  doubt  it,"  said  Otto. 


52  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"Modesty  is  always  admirable."  chuckled  the 
theorist.  "  But  yet  I  assure  you,  a  man  like  you, 
with  such  a  man  as,  say,  Doctor  Gotthold  at  your 
elbow,  would  be,  for  all  practical  issues,  my  ideal 
ruler. " 

At  this  rate  the  hours  sped  pleasantly  for  Otto. 
But  the  licentiate  unfortunately  slept  that  night 
at  Bcckstein,  where  he  was,  beingr  dainty  in  the 
saddle  and  given  to  half  stages.  And  to  find  a 
convoy  to  Mittwalden,  and  thus  mitigate  the 
company  of  his  own  thoughts,  the  prince  had  to 
make  favor  with  a  certain  party  of  wood-mer- 
chants from  various  states  of  the  empire,  who  had 
been  drinking  together  somewhat  noisily  at  the 
far  end  of  the  apartment. 

The  night  had  already  fallen  when  they  took 
the  saddle.  The  merchants  were  very  loud  and 
mirthful ;  each  had  a  face  like  a  nor'-west  moon  ; 
and  they  played  pranks  with  each  other's  horses, 
and  mingled  songs  and  choruses,  and  alternately 
remembered  and  forgot  the  companion  of  their 
ride.  Otto  thus  combined  society  and  solitude, 
hearkening  now  to  their  chattering  and  empty 
talk,  now  to  the  voices  of  the  encircling  forest. 
The  starlit  dark,  the  faint  wood  airs,  the  clank  of 
the  horseshoes  making  broken  music,  accorded 
totrether  and  attuned  his  mind.  And  he  was  still 
in  a  most  equal  tcm])er  when  the  party  reached 
the  top  of  that  long  hill  that  overlooks  INIittwalden. 

Down   in    the  bottom  of  a  l)0\vl  of  forest,  the 


PRINCE   OTTO.  53 

lig-hts  of  the  little  formal  town  glittered  in  a  pat- 
tern, street  crossing  street ;  away  by  itself  on  the 
right,  the  palace  was  glowing  like  a  factory. 

Although  he  knew  not  Otto,  one  of  the  wood- 
merchants  was  a  native  of  the  state.  .  "There," 
said  he,  pointing  to  the  palace  with  his  whip, 
"there  is  Jezebel's  inn." 

"What,  do  you  call  it  that?"  cried  another 
laughing. 

"Ay,  that's  what  they  call  it,"  returned  the 
Griinewalder ;  and  he  brolce  into  a  song,  which 
the  rest,  as  people  well  acquainted  with  the  words 
and  air,  instantly  took  up  in  chorus.  Her  Se- 
rene Highness  Amalia  Seraphina,  Princess  of 
Griinewald,  was  the  heroine,  Gondremark  the 
hero  of  this  ballad.     Shame  hissed  in  Otto's  ears. 

He  reined  up  short  and  sat  stunned  in  the 
saddle ;  and  the  singers  continued  to  descend  the 
hill  without  him. 

The  song  went  to  a  rough,  swashing,  popular 
air;  and  long  after  the  words  became  inaudible 
the  swing  of  the  music,  rising  and  falling,  echoed 
insult  in  the  Prince's  brain.  He  fled  the  sounds. 
Hard  by  him  on  his  right  a  road  struck  toward  the 
palace,  and  he  followed  it  through  the  thick 
shadows  and  branching  alleys  of  the  park.  It 
was  a  busy  place  on  a  fine  summer's  afternoon, 
when  the  court  and  burghers  met  and  saluted ; 
but  at  that  hour  of  the  night  in  the  early  spring  it 
was  deserted  to  the  roosting  birds.      Hares  rustled 


54  PRINCE   OTTO. 

amon^  the  covert  ;   here  and  there  a  statue  stood 
^hmmering,   with    its  eternal  gesture  ;    here  and 
there  the  echo  of  an  imitation  temple  clattered 
ghostly    to    the   trampling-   of    the    mare.       Ten 
minutes  brought  him  to  the  upper  end  of  his  own 
home   garden,   where  the  small   stables  opened, 
over  a  bridge,  upon    the  park.     The  yard  clock 
was  striking  the  hour  of  ten  ;  so  was  the  big  bell 
in  the  palace  bell-tower  ;  and,  further  off,  the  bel- 
fries of  the  town.     About  the  stable  all  else  was 
silent  but  the  stamping  of  stalled  horses  and  the 
rattle  of  halters.      Otto  dismounted ;  and    as    he 
did  so  a  memory  came  back  to  him  ;  a  whisper 
of  dishonest  grooms  and  stolen  corn,  once  heard, 
long  forgotten,  and  now  recurring  in  the  nick  of 
opportunity.     He  crossed  the  bridge,  and,  going 
up  to   a   window,    knocked  six  or  seven    heavy 
blows  in  a  particular  cadence,  and,  as  he  did  so, 
smiled.     Presently  a  wicket  was   opened  in  the 
gate,  and  a  man's  head  appeared  in  the  dim  star- 
light. 

"Nothing  to-night,"  said  a  voice. 

"  Bring  a  lantern,"  said  the  prince. 

"Dear    heart    a'    mercy!"    cried    the   groom. 
"Who's  that?" 

.  "It  is  I,  the  prince,"  replied  Otto.  "Bring  a 
lantern,  take  in  the  mare,  and  let  me  through  into 
the  garden." 

The  man  remained  silent  for  a  while,  his  head 
still  projecting  through  the  wicket. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  55 

"  His  Highness  !  ''  lie  said  at  last.  "  And  why 
did  your  Highness  knock  so  strange?  "' 

"  It  is  a  superstition  in  Mittwalden,"  answered 
Otto,   "  that  it  cheapens  corn."' 

With  a  sound  like  a  sob  the  groom  fled.  He 
was  very  white  when  he  returned,  even  by  the 
light  of  the  lantern  ;  and  his  hand  trembled  as  he 
undid  the  fastenings  and  took  the  mare. 

"Your  Highness,"  he  began  at  last,  "for God's 
sake — "  And  there  he  paused,  oppressed  with 
guilt. 

' '  For  God's  sake,  what  ?  "  asked  Otto,  cheer- 
fully. "For  God's  sake,  let  us  have  cheaper 
corn,  say  I.  Good-night !  "  And  he  strode  off 
into  the  garden,  leading  the  groom  petrified  once 
more. 

The  garden  descended  by  a  succession  of 
stone  terraces  to  the  level  of  the  fish-pond.  On 
the  far  side  the  ground  rose  again,  and  was 
crowned  by  the  confused  roofs  and  gables  of  the 
palace.  The  modern  pillared  front,  the  ball-room, 
the  great  library,  the  princely  apartments,  the 
busy  and  illuminated  quarters  of  that  great  house, 
all  faced  the  town.  The  garden  side  was  much 
older  ;  and  here  it  was  almost  dark  ;  only  a  few 
wdndows  quietly  lighted  at  various  elevations. 
The  great  square  tower  rose,  thinning  by  stages 
like  a  telescope  ;  and  on  the  top  of  all  the  flag 
hung  motionless. 

The  garden,   as    it   now    lay  in   the  dusk   and 


56  PRINCE   OTTO. 

glimmer  of  the  starshinc,  brcalhctl  of  April  vidlcts. 
Under  nig-lit's  cavern  arch  the  shrubs  obscurely 
bustled.  Through  the  i)lotted  terraces  ruul  down 
the  marble  stairs  the  prince  rapidly  descended, 
fleeing  still  before  uncomfortable  thoughts.  But, 
alas!  from  these  there  is  no  city  of  refuge.  And 
now,  when  he  was  about  mitlway  of  the  descent, 
distant  strains  of  music  began  to  fall  upon  his  ear 
from  the  ball-room,  where  the  court  was  dancing. 
They  reached  him  faint  and  broken,  but  the}' 
touched  the  keys  of  memory  ;  and  through  and 
above  them,  Otto  heard  the  ranting  melody  of  the 
wood-merchants'  song.  Mere  blackness  seized 
upon  his  mind.  Here  he  was,  coming  home  ; 
the  wife  was  dancing,  the  husbanil  had  been 
playing  a  trick  upon  a  lackey;  and  meanwhile, 
all  about  them,  they  were  a  by-word  to  their 
subjects.  Such  a  prince,  such  a  husband,  such  a 
man,  as  this  Otto  had  become  !  And  he  sped  the 
faster  onward. 

Some  way  below  he  came  unexpectedly  upon  a 
sentry  ;  yet  a  little  further,  and  he  was  challenged 
by  a  second  ;  and  as  he  crossed  the  bridge  over  the 
fish-pond,  an  officer  making  the  rounds  stopped 
him  once  more. 

The  parade  of  watch  was  more  than  usual  ;  but 
curiosity  was  dead  in  Otto's  mind,  and  he  only 
chafed  at  the  interruption.  The  porter  of  the 
back  postern  admitted  him,  and  started  to  behold 
him  so  disordered.     Thence,  hasting  uj)  by  pri\  ;ite 


PRINCE   OTTO.  57 

stairs  and  passages,  he  came  at  length  unsi'Hen  to 
his  own  chamber,  tore  off  his  clothes,  and  threw 
himself  in  the  dark  upon  his  bed.  The  music  of 
the  ball-room  still  continued  to  a  very  lively 
measure  ;  and  still,  behind  that,  he  heard  in  spirit 
the  chorus  of  the  merchants  clanking  down  the 
hill. 


BOOK  II. 
OF  LOVE  AND  POLITICS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

WHAT    HAPPENED    IN    THE    LIBRARY. 

At  a  quarter  before  six  on  the  following  morn- 
ing Doctor  Gotthold  was  already  at  his  desk  in 
the  library  ;  and  with  a  small  cup  of  black  coffee 
at  his  elbow,  and  an  eye  occasionally  wandering 
to  the  busts  and  the  long  array  of  many-colored 
books,  was  quietly  reviewing  the  labors  of  the 
day  before.  He  was  a  man  of  about  forty,  flaxen- 
haired,  with  refined  features  a  little  worn,  and 
bright  eyes  somewhat  faded.  Early  to  bed  and 
early  to  rise,  his  life  was  devoted  to  two  things  : 
erudition  and  Rhine  wine.  An  ancient  friendship 
existed  latent  between  him  and  Otto  ;  they  rarely 
met,  but  when  they  did  it  was  to  take  up  at  once 
the  thread  of  their  suspended  intimacy.  Gotthold, 
the  virgin  priest  of  knowledge,  had  envied  his 
cousin,  for  half  a  day,  when  he  was  married  ;  he 
had  never  envied  him  his  throne. 

Reading  was  not   a  popular   diversion  at  the 


PRINCE   OTTO.  59 

court  of  Gruncwald  ;  and  that  great,  pleasant, 
sunshiny  gallery  of  books  and  statues  was, 
in  practice,  Gotthold's  private  cabinet.  On 
this  particular  Wednesday  morning,  however,  he 
had  not  been  long  about  his  manuscript  when  a 
door  opened  and  the  prince  stepped  into  the 
apartment.  The  doctor  watched  him  as  he  drew 
near,  receiving,  from  each  of  the  embayed 
windows  in  succession,  a  flush  of  morning  sun  ; 
and  Otto  looked  so  gay,  and  walked  so  airily,  he 
was  so  well  dressed  and  brushed  and  frizzled,  so 
point-de-vice,  and  of  such  sovereign  elegance, 
that  the  heart  of  his  cousin  the  recluse  was  rather 
moved  against  him. 

"Good-morning,  Gotthold," said  Otto,  dropping 

in  a  chair. 

"Good-morning,  Otto,"'  returned  the  librarian. 
"You  are  an  early  bird.  Is  this  an  accident,  or 
do  you  begin  reforming  ?  " 

"It  is  about  time,  I  fancy,''  answered  the 
prince. 

"  I  cannot  imagine,"'  said  the  doctor.  "  I  am 
too  skeptical  to  be  an  ethical  adviser  ;  and  as  for 
good  resolutions,  I  believed  in  them  when  I  was 
young.     They  are  the  colors  of  hope's  rainbow." 

"If  you  come  to  think  of  it,"  said  Otto.  "I 
am  not  a  popular  sovereign."  And  with  a  look 
he  changed  his  statement  to  a  question. 

"Popular?  Well,  there  I  would  distinguish,' 
answered  Gotthold,  leaning  back  and  joining  the 


6o  PRINCE   OTTO. 

tips  of  his  fin<]^cr.s.  "There  are  various  kinds  of 
popularity  ;  the  bookish,  which  is  perfectly  im- 
personal, as  unreal  as  the  nightmare  ;  the  poli- 
tician's, a  mixed  variety  ;  and  yours,  which  is  the 
most  personal  of  all.  Women  take  to  you  ;  foot- 
men adore  you  ;  it  is  as  natural  to  like  you  as  to 
pat  a  dog ;  and  were  you  a  saw-miller  you 
would  be  the  most  popular  citizen  in  Griinewald. 
As  a  prince — well,  you  are  in  the  wrong  trade. 
It  is  perhaps  philosophical  to  recognize  it  as  you 
do." 

"Perhaps  philosophical.?"  repeated  Otto. 

"Yes,  perhaps.  I  would  not  be  dogmatic," 
answered  Gotthold. 

"  Perhaps  philosophical,  and  certainly  not 
virtuous,"  Otto  resumed. 

"Not  of  a  Roman  virtue,"  chuckled  the  re- 
cluse. 

Otto  drew  his  chair  nearer  to  the  table,  leaned 
upon  it  with  his  elbow,  and  looked  his  cousin 
squarely  in  the  face.  "  In  short,"  he  asked,  "not 
manly  ?  " 

"Well,"  Gotthold  hesitated,  "not  manl)-,  ifyou 
will."  And  then  with  a  laugh,  "  I  did  not  know 
that  you  gave  yourself  out  to  be  manly,"  he 
added.  "It  was  one  of  the  points  that  I  inclined 
to  like  about  you  ;  inclined,  I  believe,  to  admire. 
The  names  of  virtues  exercise  a  charm  on  most 
of  us  ;  we  must  lay  claim  to  all  of  them,  how- 
ever incompatible;     we   must    all   be    both   dar- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  6 1 

ing  and  prudent ;  we  must  all  vaunt  our  pride 
and  go  to  the  stake  for  our  humility.  Not  so  you. 
Without  compromise  you  were  yourself ;  a  pretty 
sight.  I  have  always  said  it ;  none  so  void  of  all 
pretense  as  Otto." 

"  Pretense  and  effort  both  !  "  cried  Otto.  "  A 
dead  dog  in  a  canal  is  more  alive.  And  the 
question,  Gotthold,  the  question  that  I  have  to 
face  is  this  :  Can  I  not,  with  effort  and  self-denial, 
can  I  not  become  a  tolerable  sovereign  ?  " 

"Never,"  replied  Gotthold.  "Dismiss  the 
notion.  And  besides,  dear  child,  you  would  not 
try. 

"Nay,  Gotthold,  I  am  not  to  be  put  by,"  said 
Otto.  "If  I  am  constitutionally  unlit  to  be  a 
sovereign,  what  am  I  doing  with  this  money,  with 
this  palace,  with  these  guards  ?  And  I — a  thief 
— am  to  execute  the  law  on  others  ? " 
"I  admit  the  difficulty,"  said  Gotthold. 
"Well,  can  I  not  try  ?  "  continued  Otto.  "  Am 
I  not  bound  to  try?  And  with  the  advice  and 
help  of  such  a  man  as  you — " 

"Me!  "cried  the  librarian.  "Now,  God  for- 
bid!" 

Otto,  though  he  was  in  no  very  smiling  humor, 
could  not  forbear  to  smile.  "Yet  I  was  told  last 
night,"  he  laughed,  "  that  with  a  man  like  me  to 
impersonate,  and  a  man  like  you  to  touch  the 
springs,  a  very  possible  government  could  be 
composed." 


62  I'RIN-CE   OTTO. 

"  Now,  I  wonder  in  what  diseased  imagination," 
Gotthold  said,  ' '  that  preposterous  monster  saw 
the  light  of  day  ?  " 

"It  was  one  of  your  own  trade — a  writer;  one 
Roederer,"  said  Otto. 

"  Roederer  !  an  ignorant  puppy  I  "  cried  the 
librarian. 

"  You  are  ungrateful,"  said  Otto.  "  He  is  one 
of  your  professed  admirers." 

"Is  he?  "  cried  Gotthold,  obviously  impressed. 
"  Come,  that  is  a  good  account  of  the  young  man. 
I  must  read  his  stuff  again.  It  is  the  rather  to  his 
credit,  as  our  views  are  opposite.  The  east  and 
west  are  not  more  opposite.  Can  I  have  con- 
verted him  ?  But  no  ;  the  incident  belongs  to 
Fairy-land." 

"You  are  not  then,"  asked  the  prince,  "an 
authoritarian  .''  " 

"I.?  God  bless  me,  no!"  said  Gotthold.  "I 
am  a  red,  dear  child." 

"That  brings  me  then  to  my  next  point,  and  by 
a  natural  transition.  If  I  am  so  clearly  unfitted 
for  my  post,"  the  prince  asked;  "if  my  friends 
admit  it,  if  my  subjects  clamor  for  my  downfall, 
if  revolution  is  preparing  at  this  hour,  must  I  not 
go  forth  to  meet  the  inevitable.^  should  I  not  save 
these  horrors  and  be  done  with  these  absurdities  ? 
in  a  word,  should  I  not  abdicate.'  Oh,  believe  me, 
I  feel  the  ridicule,  the  vast  abuse  of  language," 
he  adtlcd,  wincing,  "but  even  a  principulus  like 


PRINCE   OTTO. 


me  cannot  resign  ;    he  must  make  a  great  gesture, 
and  come  buskined  forth,  and  abdicate." 

"Ay,"  said  Gotthold,  "or  else  stay  where  he 
is.     What  gnat  has  bitten  you  to-day  ?     Do  you 
not  know  that  you  are  touching,  with  lay  hands, 
the    very   holiest    inwards  of  philosophy,    where 
madness  dwells.?    Ay,  Otto,  madness;  for  in  the 
serene  temples    of   the  wise,  the  inmost  shrine, 
which  we  keep  locked,  is  full  of  spiders'  webs. 
All  men,   all,  are  fundamentally  useless  ;  nature 
but  tolerates,  she  does  not  need,  she  does  not  use 
them  :    sterile  flowers  !     All— down  to  the  fellow 
swinking  in  a  byre,  whom  fools  point  out  for  the 
exception— all  are  useless  ;  all  labor,  making  ropes 
of  sand  ;  or  like  a  child  that  has  breathed  upon  a 
window,  write  and  obliterate,  write  and  obliterate, 
idle  works  !     Talk  of  it  no  more.     That  way,  I 
tell  you,  madness  lies."     The  speaker  rose  from 
his  chair  and  then  sat  down  again.      He  laughed 
a  little  laugh,  and  then,    changing  his  tone,    re- 
sumed :   "Yes,   dear  child,  we  are  not  here  to  do 
battle  with  giants  ;  we  arc  here  to  be  happy  like 
the  flowers,  if  we  can  be.     It  is  because  you  could, 
that  I  have  always  secretly  admired  you.     Cling 
to  that  trade ;  believe  me,  it  is  the  right  one.      Be 
happy,  be  idle,  be  airy.     To    the   devil    with  all 
casuistry  !  and  leave  the  state  to  Gondremark,  as 
heretofore.      He  does  it  well  enough,  they  say  ; 
and  his  vanity  enjoys  the  situation." 

"Gotthold  "  cried  Otto,  "  what  is  this  to  me  ? 


64  PRINCE   OTTO. 

Useless  is  not  the  question  ;  I  cannot  rest  at 
uselessness ;  I  must  be  useful  or  I  must  be 
noxious — one  or  other.  I, grant  you  the  whole 
thing,  prince  and  principality  alike,  is  pure  ab- 
surdity, a  stroke  of  satire,  and  that  a  banker  or  the 
man  who  keeps  an  inn  has  graver  duties.  But 
now,  when  I  have  washed  my  hands  of  it  three 
years,  and  left  all — labor,  responsibility,  and  honor 
and  enjoyment,  too,  if  there  be  any — to  Gondre- 
mark  and  to — Seraphina — "  He  hesitated  at  the 
name,  and  Gotthold  glanced  aside.  "  Well,"  the 
prince  continued,  "  what  has  come  of  it  .'*  Taxes, 
army,  cannon — why,  it's  like  a  box  of  lead  sol- 
diers !  And  the  people  sick  at  the  folly  of  it  all, 
and  fired  with  the  injustice  !  And  war,  too — I 
hear  of  war — war  in  this  teapot  !  What  a  com- 
plication of  absurdity  and  disgrace!  And  when 
the  inevitable  end  arrives — the  revolution — who 
will  be  to  blame  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  will  be 
gibbeted  in  jjublic  opinion  ?     I  !   Prince  Puppet !  " 

"I  thought  you  had  despised  public  opinion," 
said  Gotthold. 

"I  did,"  said  Otto,  somberly,  "but  now  I  do 
not.  I  am  growing  old.  And  tlien,  Gotthold, 
there  is  Seraphina.  She  is  loathed  in  this  country 
that  I  brought  her  to  and  suffered  her  to  spoil. 
Yes,  I  gave  it  her  as  a  plaything,  ami  she  has 
broken  it  ;  a  fine  prince,  an  admirable  princess  ! 
Even  her  life — I  ask  vou,  Gotthold,  is  her  life 
safe  ?  ■■ 


PRINCE   OTTO.  65 

' '  It  is  safe  enough  to-day, "  replied  the  librarian  ; 
"but  since  you  ask  me  seriously,  I  would  not 
answer  for  to-morrow.     She  is  ill-advised." 

"And  by  whom.?  By  this  Gondremark,  to 
whom  you  counsel  me  to  leave  my  country, '' cried 
the  prince.  "Rare  advice  !  The  course  that  I 
have  been  following  all  these  years,  to  come  at 
last  to  this.  Oh,  ill  advised  !  if  that  were  all ! 
See  now,  there  is  no  sense  in  beating  about  the 
bush  between  two  men  ;  you  know  what  scandal 
says  of  her  ?  " 

Gotthold,  with  pursed  lips,  silently  nodded. 

"Well,  come,  you  are  not  very  cheering  as  to 
my  conduct  as  the  prince ;  have  I  even  done  my 
duty  as  a  husband  ?  "   Otto  asked. 

"Nay,  nay,"  said  Gotthold,  earnestly  and 
eagerly,  "this  is  another  chapter.  I  am  an  old 
celibate,  an  old  monk.  I  cannot  advise  you  in 
your  marriage. '' 

"Nor  do  I  require  advice,"'  said  Otto,  rising. 
"  All  of  this  must  cease."  And  he  began  to  walk 
to  and  fro  with  his  hands  behind  his  back. 

"Well,  Otto,  may  God  guide  you  !  "  said  Gott- 
hold, after  a  considerable  silence.      "I  cannot." 

"From  what  does  all  this  spring.?"  said  the 
prince,  stopping  in  his  walk.  "What  am  I  to 
call  it.?  Diffidence.?  The  fear  of  ridicule .?  In- 
verted vanity.?  What  matter  names,  if  it  has 
brought  me  here  .?  I  could  never  bear  to  be  bus- 
tling about  nothing  ;  I  was  ashamed  of  this  toy 
5 


66  T'RIXCE    OTTO. 

kingdom  from  the  first  bcg-iiining  ;  I  could  not 
tolerate  that  people  should  fancy  I  believed  in  it 
— a  thing  so  patently  absurd  !  I  would  do  noth- 
ing that  cannot  be  done  smiling.  I  have  a  sense 
of  humor  forsooth  !  I  must  know  better  than 
my  j\Iaker.  And  it  was  the  same  thing  in  my 
marriage,"  he  added,  more  hoarsely.  "I  did  not 
believe  this  girl  could  care  for  me  ;  I  must  not 
intrude  ;  I  must  preserve  the  foppery  of  my  indif- 
ference.    What  an  impotent  picture  !  " 

"Ay,  we  have  the  same  blood,"  moralized 
Gotthokl.  "  You  are  drawing,  with  fine  strokes, 
the  character  of  the  born  skeptic." 

"Skeptic.^ — coward!"  cried  Otto.  "Coward 
is  the  word.  A  springless,  putty-hearted,  cower- 
ing coward  !  " 

And  as  the  prince  rapped  out  the  words  in  tones 
of  unusual  vigor,  a  little,  stout  oUl  gentleman, 
opening  a  door  behind  Gotthold,  received  them 
fairly  in  the  face.  With  his  parrot's  beak  for  a 
nose,  his  pursed  mouth,  his  little  goggling  eyes, 
he  was  the  picture  of  formality  ;  and  in  ordinary 
circumstances,  strutting  behind  the  drum  of  his 
corporation,  he  impressed  the  beholder  with  a 
certain  air  of  frozen  dignity  and  wisdom.  But  at 
the  smallest  contrariety,  his  trembling  hands  and 
disconnected  gestures  betrayed  the  weakness  at 
the  root.  And  now,  when  he  was  thus  surpris- 
ingly received  in  that  library  of  Mittwalden  Palace, 
which  was  the  customary  haunt  of  silence,   his 


PRINXE   OTTO.  6"] 

hands  went  up  into  the  air  as  if  he  had  been  shot, 
and  he  cried  aloud  with  the  scream  of  an  old 
woman. 

"Oh!"  he  gasped,  recovering-.  "Your  high- 
ness 1  I  beg  ten  thousand  pardons.  But  your 
highness  at  such  an  hour  in  the  library  !  a  cir- 
cumstance so  unusual  as  your  highness's  presence 
was  a  thing  I  could  not  be  expected  to  foresee." 

"There  is  no  harm  done,  Herr  Cancellarius," 
said  Otto. 

"I  came  upon  the  errand  of  a  moment ;  some 
papers  I  left  over  night  with  the  Herr  Doctor," 
said  the  Chancellor  of  Griinewald.  "Herr  Doc- 
tor, if  you  will  kindly  give  me  them,  I  will  intrude 
no  longer." 

Gotthold  unlocked  a  drawer  and  handed  a 
bundle  of  manuscript  to  the  old  gentleman  who 
prepared,  with  fitting  salutations,  to  take  his 
departure. 

"Herr  Greisengesang,  since  we  have  met," 
said  Otto,  "let  us  talk." 

"I  am  honored  by  his  highness's  commands," 
replied  the  chancellor. 

"All  has  been  quiet  since  I  left.?"  asked  the 
prince,  resuming  his  seat. 

"  The  usual  business,  your  highness, "  answered 
Greisengesang;  "  punctual  trifles  ;  huge,  indeed, 
if  neglected,  but  trifles  when  discharged.  Your 
highness  is  most  zealously  obeyed." 

"Obeyed,    Herr   Cancellarius.'"   returned   the 


68  PRINCE    OTTO. 

prince.  "And  when  have  I  obliged  you  with  an 
order  ?  Replaced,  let  us  rather  say.  But  to  touch 
upon  these  trifles  ;  instance  me  a  few." 

"The  routine  of  government,  from  which  your 
highness  has  so  wisely  dissociated  his  leisure," 
began  Greiscngesang. 

"We  will  leave  my  leisure,  sir,"  said  Otto. 
"  Approach  the  facts." 

"The  routine  of  business  was  proceeded  with," 
replied  the  official,  now  visibly  twittering. 

"It  is  very  strange,  Herr  Cancellarius,  that  you 
should  so  persistently  avoid  my  questions,"  said 
the  prince.  ' '  You  tempt  me  to  suppose  a  purpose 
in  your  dullness.  I  have  asked  you  whether  all 
was  quiet  ;  do  me  the  pleasure  to  reply. " 

"Perfectly — Oh,  perfectly  quiet,"  jerked  the 
ancient  puppet,  with  every  signal  of  untruth. 

"  I  make  a  note  of  these  words,"  said  the  prince 
gravely.  "You  assure  me,  your  sovereign,  that 
since  the  date  of  my  departure,  nothing  has 
occurred  of  which  you  owe  me  an  account." 

"  I  take  your  highness,  I  take  the  Herr  Doctor 
to  witness,"  cried  Greisengesang,  "that  I  have 
had  no  such  expression." 

"Halt!"  said  the  prince;  and  then,  after  a 
pause  :  "  Herr  Greisengesang,  you  are  an  old 
man,  and  you  served  my  father  before  you  served 
me,"  he  added.  "  It  consists  neither  with  your 
dignity  nor  mine  that  you  should  babble  excuses 
and   stumble   possibly    upon    untruths.     Collect 


IRINCE    OTTO.  69 

your  thoughts  ;  and  then  categorically  inform  me 
of  all  you  have  been  charged  to  hide." 

Gotthold,  stooping  very  low  over  his  desk, 
appeared  to  have  resumed  his  labors  ;  but  his 
shoulders  heaved  with  subterranean  merriment. 
The  prince  waited,  drawing  his  handkerchief 
quietly  through  his  fingers. 

"Your  highness,  in  this  informal  manner," 
said  the  old  gentleman  at  last,  "and  being 
unavoidably  deprived  of  documents,  it  would  be 
difficult,  it  would  be  impossible,  to  do  justice  to 
the  somewhat  grave  occurrences  which  have 
transpired. " 

"I  will  not  criticise  your  attitude,"  replied  the 
prince.  "I  desire  that,  between  you  and  me,  all 
should  be  done  gently  ;  for  1  have  not  forgotten, 
my  old  friend,  that  you  were  kind  to  me  from  the 
first,  and  for  a  period  of  years  a  faithful  servant. 
I  will  thus  dismiss  the  matters  on  which  you 
waive  immediate  inquiry.  But  you  have  certain 
papers  actually  in  your  hand.  Come,  Herr  Grei- 
sengesang,  there  is  at  least  one  point  for  which 
you  have  authority.     Enlighten  me  on  that." 

"On  that.'*"  cried  the  old  gentleman.  "Oh, 
that  is  a  trifle  ;  a  matter,  your  highness,  of  police  ; 
a  detail  of  a  purely  administrative  order.  These 
are  simply  a  selection  of  papers  seized  upon  the 
English  traveler." 

"Seized?"  echoed  Otto.  "In  what  sense.? 
Explain  yourself" 


^O  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"  Sir  John  Oabtrec,"  interposed  Gotthokl,  look- 
ing up,  "  was  arrested  yesterday  evening." 

"Is  this  so,  Herr  Canccllarius  .^ "  demanded 
Otto  sternly. 

"  It  was  judged  right,  your  highness,"  protested 
Greisengesang.  "The  decree  was  in  due  form, 
invested  with  your  highness's  authority  by  pro- 
curation. I  am  but  an  agent  ;  I  had  no  status  to 
prevent  the  measure." 

"This  man,  my  guest,  has  been  arrested,"  said 
the  prince.  "  On  what  grounds,  sir  ?  With  what 
color  of  pretense  ?  " 

The  chancellor  stammered. 

"Your  highness  will  perhaps  find  the  reason  in 
these  documents,"  said  Gotthold,  pointing  with 
the  tail  of  his  pen. 

Otto  thanked  his  cousin  with  a  look.  "Give 
them  to  me,"  he  said,  addressing  the  chancellor. 

But  that  gentleman  visibly  hesitated  to  obey. 
"Baron  von  Gondremark,"  he  said,  "has  made 
the  affair  his  own.  I  am  in  this  case  a  mere 
messenger  ;  and  as  such,  I  am  not  clothed  vi'ith 
any  capacity  to  communicate  the  documents  I 
carry.  Herr  Doctor,  I  am  convinced  you  will 
not  fail  to  bear  me  out." 

"I  have  heard  a  great  deal  of  nonsense,"  said 
Gotthold,  "and  most  of  it  from  you;  but  this 
beats  all." 

"Come,  sir,"  said  Otto,  rising,  "  the  papers. 
I  command." 


PRINCE   OTTO.  71 

Herr  Greiseng-esang-  instantly  gave  way. 

"With  your  highness's  permission,"  he  said, 
"  and  laying  at  his  feet  my  most  submissive 
apologies,  I  will  now  hasten  to  attend  his  further 
orders  in  chancery." 

"Herr  Cancellarius,  do  you  see  this  chair.?" 
said  Otto.  "  There  is  where  you  shall  attend  my 
further  orders.  Oh,  now,  no  more  !  "  he  cried, 
with  a  gesture,  as  the  old  man  opened  his  lips, 
"You  have  sufficiently  marked  your  zeal  to  your 
employer ;  and  I  begin  to  weary  of  a  moderation 
you  abuse." 

The  chancellor  moved  to  the  appointed  chair 
and  took  his  seat  in  silence. 

"  And  now,"  said  Otto,  opening  the  roll,  "what 
is  all  this.?  it  looks  like  the  manuscript  of  a 
book." 

"It  is, "said  Gotthold,  "the  manuscript  of  a 
book  of  travels." 

"  You  have  read  it.  Doctor  Hohenstockwitz.-*  " 
asked  the  prince. 

"Nay,  I  but  saw  the  title-page,"  replied  Gott- 
hold. "But  the  roll  was  given  to  me  open,  and 
I  heard  no  word  of  any  secrecy." 

Otto  dealt  the  chancellor  an  angry  glance. 

"I  see,"  he  went  on.  "The  papers  of  an 
author  seized  at  this  date  of  the  world's  history, 
in  a  state  so  petty  and  so  ignorant  as  Griinewald, 
here  is  indeed  an  ignominious  folly.  Sir,"  to  the 
chancellor,   "I  marvel  to  find  you  in  so  scurvy  an 


72  PRINCE   OTTO. 

tMiiploynicnt.  On  your  conduct  to  your  prince  I 
will  not  dwell  ;  but  to  descend  to  be  a  spy  !  For 
what  else  can  it  be  called  ?  To  seize  the  papers 
of  this  gentleman,  the  private  papers  of  a  stranger, 
the  toil  of  a  life,  perhaps — to  open,  and  to  read 
them.  And  what  have  we  to  do  with  books  ? 
The  Herr  Doctor  might  perhaps  be  asked  for  his 
advice  ;  but  we  have  no  index  expurgalorius  in 
Griinewald.  Had  we  but  that,  we  should  be  the 
most  absolute  parody  and  farce  upon  this  tawdry 
earth." 

Yet,  even  while  Otto  spoke,  he  had  continued 
to  unfold  the  roll  ;  and  now,  when  it  lay  fully 
open,  his  eye  rested  on  the  title  page  elaborately 
written  in  red  ink.      It  ran  thus  : 

'  Memoirs 

of  a  Visit  to  the  Various 

Courts  of  Europe, 

by 

Sir  John  Crabtree,  Baronet." 

Below  was  a  list  of  chapters,  each  bearing  the 
name  of  one  of  the  European  Courts  ;  and  among 
these  the  nineteenth  and  the  last  upon  the  list 
was  dedicated  to  Griinewald. 

"Ah!  the  Court  of  Grunewald  !  "  said  Otto, 
"that  should  be  droll  reading."  And  his  curi- 
osity itched  for  it. 

"A  methodical    dog,    this    English    baronet,'" 


PRINCE    OTTO. 


said  Gotthold.  "Each  chapter  written  and  fin- 
islied  on  the  spot.  I  shall  look  for  his  work  when 
it  appears." 

"It  would  be  odd,  no\v,  just  to  glance  at  it," 
said  Otto,  wavering. 

Gotthold's  brow  darkened,  and  he  looked  out 
of  the  window. 

But  though  the  prince  comprehended  the  re- 
proof, his  weakness  was  greater  than  his  strength. 
"  I  will,"  he  said,  with  an  uneasy  laugh,  "I  will, 
I  think,  just  glance  at  it." 

So  saying,  he  resumed  his  seat  and  spread  the 
traveler's  manuscript  upon  the  table. 


74  PRINCE  OTTO. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"on   the  court  of  grunewald,"  being  a  portion 
OF  the  traveler's  manuscript. 

"  It  may  well  be  asked''  {it  was  thus  the  E?ig- 
lish  traveler  hega7i  his  nineteenth  chapter')  "  why  I 
should  have  chosen  Grunewald  out  of  so  many 
other  states  equally  petty,  formal,  dull,  and  cor- 
rupt. Accident,  indeed,  decided  and  not  I  ;  but 
I  have  seen  no  reason  to  regret  my  visit.  The 
spectacle  of  this  small  society  macerating  in  its 
own  abuses  was  not  perhaps  instructive,  but  I 
have  found  it  exceedingly  diverting. 

"The  reigning  prince,  Otto  Johann  Friedrich, 
a  young  man  of  imperfect  education,  questionable 
valor,  and  no  scintilla  of  capacity,  has  fallen  into 
entire  public  contempt.  It  was  with  difficulty 
that  I  obtained  an  interview,  for  he  is  frequently 
absent  from  a  court  where  his  presence  is  un- 
heeded, and  where  his  only  role  is  to  be  a  cloak 
for  the  amours  of  his  wife.  At  last,  however,  on 
the  third  occasion  when  I  visited  the  palace,  I 
found  this  sovereign  in  the  exercise  of  his  in- 
glorious function,  with  the  wife  on  one  hand  and 
the  lover  on  the  other.  He  is  not  ill-looking  ;  he 
has  hair  of  a  ruddy  gold,  wliich  naturally  curls, 


PRINCE   OTTO.  75 

and  his  eyes  are  dark,  a  combination  which  I 
always  regard  as  the  mark  of  some  congenital 
deficiency,  physical  or  moral  ;  his  features  are 
irregular  but  pleasing  ;  the  nose  perhaps  a  little 
short,  and  the  mouth  a  little  womanish  ;  his  ad- 
dress is  excellent,  and  he  can  express  himself 
with  point.  But  to  pierce  below  these  externals 
is  to  come  on  a  vacuity  of  any  sterling  quality,  a 
deliquescence  of  the  moral  nature,  a  frivolity  and 
inconsequence  of  purpose  that  mark  the  nearly 
perfect  fruit  of  a  decadent  age.  He  has  a  worth- 
less smattering  of  many  subjects,  but  a  grasp  of 
none.  'I  soon  weary  of  a  pursuit,'  he  said  to 
me,  laughing  ;  it  would  almost  appear  as  if  he 
took  a  pride  in  his  incapacity  and  lack  of  moral 
courage.  The  results  of  his  dilettantism  are  to 
be  seen  in  every  field  ;  he  is  a  bad  fencer,  a  sec- 
ond-rate horseman,  dancer,  shot ;  he  sings — I 
have  heard  him — and  he  sings  like  a  child  ;  he 
writes  intolerable  verses  in  more  than  doubtful 
French  ;  he  acts  like  the  common  amateur  ;  and 
in  short  there  is  no  end  to  the  number  of  the 
things  that  he  does,  and  does  badly.  His  one 
manly  taste  is  for  the  chase.  In  sum,  he  is  but 
a  plexus  of  weaknesses  ;  the  singing  chamber- 
maid of  the  stage,  tricked  out  in  man's  apparel 
and  mounted  on  a  circus  horse.  I  have  seen  this 
poor  phantom  of  a  prince  riding  out  alone  or 
with  a  few  huntsmen,  disregarded  by  all,  and  I 
have    been    even    grieved    for   the  bearer  of  so 


^6  PRINCE   OTTO. 

futile    and    melancholy    an    existence.     The    last 
Meroving-ians  may  have  looked  not  otherwise. 

"The  Trincess  Amalia  Seraphina,  a  daughter 
of  the  Grand  Ducal  house  of  Toggenburg-Tann- 
hauser  would  be  equally  inconsiderable  if  she 
were  not  a  cutting  instrument  in  the  hands  of  an 
ambitious  man.  She  is  much  younger  than  the 
prince,  a  girl  of  two-and-twenty,  sick  with  vanity, 
superficially  clever,  and  fundamentally  a  fool. 
She  has  a  red-brown,  rolling  eye,  too  large  for 
her  face,  and  with  sparks  of  both  levity  and 
ferocity  ;  her  forehead  is  high  and  narrow,  her 
figure  thin  and  a  little  stooping.  Her  manners, 
her  conversation,  which  she  interlards  with 
French,  her  very  tastes  and  ambitions,  are  alike 
assumed  ;  and  the  assumption  is  ungracefully 
apparent ;  Hoyden  playing  Cleopatra.  I  should 
judge  her  to  be  incapable  of  truth.  In  private 
life  a  girl  of  this  description  embroils  the  peace  of 
families,  walks  attended  by  a  troop  of  scowling 
swains,  and  passes,  once  at  least,  through  the 
divorce  court ;  it  is  a  common  and,  except  to  the 
cynic,  an  uninteresting  type.  On  the  throne, 
however,  and  in  the  hands  of  a  man  like  Gon- 
dremark,  she  may  become  the  authoress  of  serious 
public  evils. 

"Gondrcmark,  the  true  ruler  of  this  unfortunate 
country,  is  a  more  complex  study.  His  position 
in  Griinewald,  to  which  he  is  a  foreigner,  is 
eminently  false  ;   and  that    he  should  maintain   it 


PRINCE   OTTO.  TJ 

as  he  does,  a  very  miracle  of  impudence  and 
dexterity.  His  speech,  his  face,  his  poHcy,  are 
all  double  :  heads  and  tails.  Which  of  the  two 
extremes  may  be  his  actual  design,  he  were  a 
bold  man  who  should  offer  to  decide.  Yet  I  will 
hazard  the  guess  that  he  follows  both  experi- 
mentally, and  awaits,  at  the  hand  of  destiny,  one 
of  those  directing  hints  of  which  she  is  so  lavish 
to  the  wise. 

"On  the  one  hand,  as  Maire  de  Palais  to  the 
incompetent  Otto,  and  using  the  love-sick  princess 
for  a  tool  and  mouth-piece,  he  pursues  a  policy 
of  arbitrary  power  and  territorial  aggrandizement. 
He  has  called  out  the  whole  capable  male  popu- 
lation of  the  state  to  military  service ;  he  has 
bought  cannon  ;  he  has  tempted  away  promising 
officers  from  foreign  armies  ;  and  he  now  begins, 
in  his  international  relations,  to  assume  the  swag- 
gering port  and  the  vague,  threatful  language  of 
a  bully.  The  idea  of  extending  Griinewald  may 
appear  absurd,  but  the  little  state  is  advantage- 
ously placed,  its  neighbors  are  all  defenseless  ; 
and  if  at  any  moment  the  jealousies  of  the  greater 
courts  should  neutralize  each  other,  an  active 
policy  might  double  the  principality  both  in 
population  and  extent.  Certainly  at  least  the 
scheme  is  entertained  in  the  court  of  INIittwalden  ; 
nor  do  I  myself  regard  it  as  entirely  desperate. 
The  margravate  of  Brandenburgh  has  grown  from 
as  small  beginnings  to  a  formidable  power  ;  and 


78  PRINCE   OTTO. 

though  it  is  late  in  the  day  to  try  adventurous 
policies,  and  the  age  of  war  seems  ended,  Fortune, 
we  must  not  forget,  still  blindly  turns  her  wheel 
for  men  and  nations.  Concurrently  with,  and 
tributary  to,  these  warlike  preparations,  crushing 
taxes  have  been  levied,  journals  have  been  sup- 
pressed, and  the  country,  which  three  years  ago 
was  prosperous  and  happy,  now  stagnates  in  a 
forced  inaction,  gold  has  become  a  curiosity,  and 
the  mills  stand  idle  on  the  mountain  streams. 

"On  the  other  hand,  in  his  second  capacity  of 
popular  tribune,  Gondremarkis  the  incarnation  of 
the  free  lodges,  aiid  sits  at  the  center  of  an  organ- 
ized conspiracy  against  the  state.  To  any  such 
movement  my  sympathies  were  early  acquired, 
and  I  would  not  willingly  let  fall  a  word  that 
might  embarrass  or  retard  the  revolution.  But  to 
shov»^  that  I  speak  of  knowledge,  and  not  as  the 
reporter  of  mere  gossip,  I  may  mention  that  I 
have  myself  been  present  at  a  meeting  where  the 
details  of  a  republican  Constitution  were  minutely 
debated  and  arranged ;  and  I  may  add  that 
Gondremark  was  throughout  referred  to  by  the 
speakers  as  their  captain  in  action  and  the  arbiter 
of  their  disputes.  He  has  taught  his  dupes  (for 
so  I  must  regard  them)  that  his  power  of  resist- 
ance to  the  princess  is  limited,  and  at  each  fresh 
stretch  of  authority  persuades  them,  with  specious 
reasons,  to  postpone  the  hour  of  insurrection. 
Thus  (to  give  some  instances  of  his  astute  diplo- 


PRI^XE   OTTO. 


79 


macy)  he  salved  over  the  decree  enforcing 
military  service,  under  the  plea  that  to  be  well 
drilled  and  exercised  in  arms  was  ever  a  necessary 
preparation  for  revolt.  And  the  other  day,  when 
it  began  to  be  rumored  abroad  that  a  Avar  was 
being  forced  on  a  reluctant  neighbor,  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Gerolstein,  and  I  made  sure  it  would  be 
the  signal  for  an  instant  rising,  I  was  struck 
dumb  with  wonder  to  find  that  even  this  had  been 
prepared  and  was  to  be  accepted.  I  went  from 
one  to  another  in  the  Liberal  camp,  and  all  were 
in  the  same  story,  all  had  been  drilled  and  schooled 
and  fitted  out  with  vacuous  argument.  '  The  lads 
had  better  see  some  real  fighting,'  they  said  ;  '  and 
besides,  it  will  be  as  well  to  capture  Gerolstein  ; 
we  can  then  extend  to  our  neighbors  the  blessing 
of  liberty  on  the  same  day  that  we  snatch  it  for 
ourselves ;  and  the  Republic  will  be  all  the  stronger 
to  resist,  if  the  kings  of  Europe  should  band  them- 
selves together  to  reduce  it. '  I  know  not  which  of 
the  two  I  should  admire  the  more  :  the  simplicity 
of  the  multitude  or  the  audacity  of  the  advent- 
urer. But  such  are  the  subtleties,  and  the  quibbling 
reasons,  with  which  he  blinds  and  leads  this 
people.  How  long  a  course  so  tortuous  can  be 
pursued  with  safety  I  am  incapable  of  guessing  ; 
not  long,  one  would  suppose ;  and  yet  this 
singular  man  has  been  treading  the  mazes  for  five 
years,  and  his  favor  at  court  and  his  popularity 
among  the  lodges  still  endure  unbroken. 


8o  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"I  have  the  privilege  of  slightly  knowing  him. 
Heavily  and  somewhat  clumsily  built,  of  a  vast, 
disjointed,  rambling  frame,  he  can  still  pull  him- 
self together  and  figure,  not  without  admiration, 
in  the  saloon  or  the  ball-room.  I  lis  hue  and 
temperament  are  plentifully  bilious;  he  has  a 
saturnine  eye  ;  his  cheek  is  of  a  dark  blue  where 
he  has  been  shaven.  Essentially  he  is  to  be 
numbered  among  the  man-haters,  a  convinced 
contemner  of  his  fellows.  Yet  he  is  himself  of  a 
commonplace  ambition  and  greedy  of  applause. 
In  talk  he  is  remarkable  for  a  thirst  of  information, 
loving  rather  to  hear  than  to  communicate  ;  for 
sound  and  studious  views;  and,  judging  by  the 
extreme  short-sightedness  of  common  politicians, 
for  a  remarkable  prevision  of  events.  All  this, 
however,  without  grace,  pleasantry,  or  charm, 
heavily  set  forth  with  a  dull  countenance.  In 
our  numerous  conversations,  although  he  has 
always  heard  me  with  deference,  I  have  been  con- 
scious throughout  of  a  sort  of  ponderous  finessing, 
hard  to  tolerate.  He  produces  none  of  the  effect 
of  a  gentleman  ;  devoid  not  merely  of  pleasantry, 
but  of  all  attention  or  communicative  warmth  of 
bearing.  No  gentleman,  besides,  would  so  parade 
his  amours  with  the  princess ;  still  less  repay  the 
prince  for  his  long-suffering  with  a  studietl  inso- 
lence of  demeanor  and  the  fabrication  of  insulting 
nicknames,  such  as  Prince  Featherhead,  which 
run  from  ear  to  ear  and  create  a  laugh  throughout 


PRINCE   OTTO.  8 1 

the  country.  Gondremark  has  thus  some  of  the 
clumsier  characters  of  the  self-made  man,  com- 
bined with  an  inordinate,  almost  a  besotted, 
pride  of  intellect  and  birth.  Heavy,  bilious,  self- 
ish, inornate,  he  sits  upon  this  court  and  country 
like  an  incubus. 

"But  it  is  probable  that  he  preserves  softer  gifts 
for  necessary  purposes.  Indeed,  it  is  certain, 
although  he  vouchsafed  none  of  it  to  me,  that  this 
cold  and  stolid  politician  possesses  to  a  great 
degree  the  art  of  ingratiation,  and  can  be  all  things 
to  all  men.  Hence  there  has  probably  sprung  up 
the  idle  legend  that,  in  private  life,  he  is  a  gross, 
romping  voluptuary.  Nothing,  at  least,  can  well 
be  more  surprising  than  the  terms  of  his  connec- 
tion with  the  princess.  Older  than  her  husband, 
certainly  uglier,  and,  according  to  the  feeble  ideas 
common  among  women,  in  every  particular  less 
pleasing,  he  has  not  only  seized  the  complete 
command  of  all  her  thought  and  action,  but  has 
imposed  upon  her  in  public  a  humiliating  part. 
I  do  not  here  refer  to  the  complete  sacrifice  of 
every  rag  of  her  reputation  ;  for  to  many  women 
these  extremities  are  in  themselves  attractive. 
But  there  is  about  the  court  a  certain  lady  of  a 
disheveled  reputation,  a  Countess  von  Rosen, 
wife  or  widow  of  a  cloudy  count,  no  longer  in  her 
second  youth  and  already  bereft  of  some  of  her 
attractions,  who  unequivocally  occupies  the  sta- 
tion of  the  baron's  mistress.  I  had  thouQ^ht,  at 
6 


82  PRINCE   OTTO. 

first,  that  she  was  but  a  hired  accomplice,  a  mere 
blind  or  buffer  for  the  more  important  sinner.  A 
few  hours'  acquaintance  with  Madame  von  Rosen 
forever  dispelled  the  illusion.  She  is  one  rather 
to  make  than  to  prevent  a  scandal  ;  and  she  values 
none  of  those  bribes — money,  honors,  or  employ- 
ment—  with  which  the  situation  might  be  gilded. 
Indeed,  as  a  person  frankly  bad,  she  pleased  me, 
in  the  court  of  Griinewald,  like  a  piece  of  nature. 
"  The  power  of  this  man  over  the  princess  is, 
therefore,  without  bounds.  She  has  sacrificed,  to 
the  adoration  with  which  he  has  inspired  her,  not 
only  her  marriage  vow  and  every  shred  of  public 
decency,  but  that  vice  of  jealousy  which  is  so 
much  dearer  to  the  female  sex  than  either  intrinsic 
honor  or  outward  consideration.  Nay,  more  :  a 
young,  although  not  a  very  attractive  woman, 
and  a  princess  both  by  birth  and  fact,  she  submits 
to  the  triumphant  rivalry  of  one  who  might  be  her 
mother  as  to  years,  and  who  is  so  manifestly  her 
inferior  in  station.  This  is  one  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  human  heart.  But  the  rage  of  illicit  love, 
when  it  is  once  indulged,  appears  to  grow  by 
feeding  ;  and  to  a  person  of  the  character  and 
temperament  of  this  unfortunate  young  lady, 
almost  any  depth  of  degradation  is  within  the 
reach  of  possibility." 


PRINCE   OTTO.  83 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    PRIN'CE    AXD    THE    ENGLISH    TRAVELER. 

So  far  Otto  read,  with  waxing  indignation  ;  and 
here  his  fury  overflowed.  He  tossed  the  roll  upon 
the  table  and  stood  up.  "This  man,"  he  said, 
"  is  a  devil.  A  filthy  imagination,  an  ear  greedy 
of  evil,  a  ponderous  malignity  of  thought  and 
language  :  I  grow  like  him  by  the  reading  !  Chan- 
cellor, where  is  this  fellow  lodged  ?  " 

"  He  was  committed  to  the  Flag  Tower,"  replied 
Greisengesang,   "in  the  Gamiani  apartment," 

"Lead  me  to  him,"  said  the  prince  ;  and  then 
a  thought  striking  him,  "Was  it  for  that,"  he 
asked,  "that  I  found  so  many  sentries  in  the 
garden  ? " 

"  Your  highness,  I  am  unaware,"  answered 
Greisengesang,  true  to  his  policy.  "The  dispo- 
sition of  the  guards  is  a  matter  distinct  from  my 
functions." 

Otto  turned  upon  the  old  man  fiercely,  but  ere 
he  had  time  to  speak,  Gotthold  touched  him  on 
the  arm.  He  swallowed  his  wrath  with  a  great 
effort.  "It  is  well,"  he  said,  taking  the  roll. 
"Follow  me  to  the  Flag  Tower." 

The  chancellor  gathered  himself  together,  and 


84  PRINCE   OTTO. 

the  two  set  forward.  It  was  a  long  and  compli- 
cated voyage  ;  for  the  library  was  in  the  wing  of 
the  new  buildings,  and  the  tower  which  carried 
the  flag  was  in  the  old  schloss  upon  the  garden. 
By  a  great  variety  of  stairs  and  corridors  they 
came  out  at  last  upon  a  patch  of  graveled  court  ; 
the  garden,  with  a  flash  of  green,  peeped  through 
a  high  grating  ;  tall,  old,  gabled  buildings  mounted 
on  every  side  ;  stage  after  stage,  the  Flag  Tower 
climbed  into  the  blue,  and  high  over  all,  among 
the  building  daws,  the  yellow  banner  flaunted  in 
the  wind.  A  sentinel  at  the  foot  of  the  tower 
stairs  presented  arms ;  another  paced  the  first 
landing  ;  and  a  third  was  stationed  before  the  door 
of  the  extemporized  prison. 

"We  guard  this  mud-bag  like  a  jewel,"  Otto 
sneered. 

The  Gamiani  apartment  was  so  called  from  an 
Italian  doctor  who  had  imposed  on  the  credulity 
of  a  former  prince.  The  rooms  were  large,  airy, 
pleasant,  and  looked  upon  the  garden  ;  but  the 
walls  were  of  great  thickness  (for  the  tower  was 
old)  and  the  windows  were  heavily  barred.  The 
prince,  followed  by  the  chancellor,  still  trotting 
to  keep  up  with  him,  brushed  swiftly  through  the 
little  library  and  the  long  saloon,  and  burst  like  a 
thunderbolt  into  the  bedroom  at  the  further  end. 
Sir  John  was  finishing  his  toilet  ;  a  man  of  fifty, 
hard,  uncompromising,  able,  with  the  eye  and 
teeth  of  physical  courage.      He  was  unmoNcd  1))' 


PRINCE   OTTO.  85 

the  irruption,  and  bowed  with  a  sort  of  sneering 
ease. 

"To  what  am  I  to  attribute  the  honor  of  this 
visit  ?  "  he  asked. 

"You  have  eaten  my  bread,"  replied  Otto, 
"you  have  taken  my  hand,  you  have  been  re- 
ceived under  my  roof.  When  did  I  fail  you  in 
courtesy  ?  What  have  you  asked  that  was  not 
granted  as  to  an  honored  guest  .'*  And  here, 
sir,"  tapping  fiercely  on  the  manuscript,  "here  is 
your  return." 

"Your  highness  has  read  my  papers?"  said  the 
baronet.  "I  am  honored,  indeed.  But  the 
sketch  is  most  imperfect.  I  shall  now  have  much 
to  add.  I  can  say  that  the  prince,  whom  I  had 
accused  of  idleness,  is  zealous  in  the  department 
of  police,  taking  upon  himself  those  duties  that 
are  most  distasteful.  I  shall  be  able  to  relate  the 
burlesque  incident  of  my  arrest,  and  the  singular 
interview  with  which  you  honor  me  at  present. 
For  the  rest,  I  have  already  communicated  with 
my  ambassador  at  Vienna  ;  and  unless  you  pro- 
pose to  murder  me,  I  shall  be  at  liberty,  whether 
you  please  or  not,  within  the  week.  For  I  hardly 
fancy  the  future  empire  of  Griinewald  is  yet  ripe 
to  go  to  war  with  England.  I  conceive  I  am  a 
little  more  than  quits.  I  owe  you  no  explana- 
tion ;  yours  has  been  the  wrong.  You,  if  you 
have  studied  my  writing  with  intelligence,  owe 
me  a  large  debt  of  gratitude.     And  to  conclude, 


86  PRINCE   OTTO. 

as  I  have  not  yet  finished  my  toilet,  I  imaijinethe 
courtesy  of  a  turnkey  to  a  prisoner  would  induce 
you  to  withdraw." 

There  was  some  paper  on  the  table,  and  Otto, 
sitting  down,  wrote  a  passport  in  the  name  of  Sir 
John  Crabtree. 

"  Affix  the  seal,  Herr  Cancellarius,"  he  said,  in 
his  most  princely  manner,  as  he  rose. 

Greiseng-esang  produced  a  red  portfolio,  and 
affixed  the  seal  in  the  unpoetic  guise  of  an  ad- 
hesive stamp  ;  nor  did  his  perturbed  and  clumsy 
movements  at  all  lessen  the  comedy  of  the  per- 
formance. Sir  John  looked  on  with  a  malign  en- 
joyment ;  and  Otto  chafed,  regretting,  when  too 
late,  the  unnecessary  royalty  of  his  command  and 
gesture.  But  at  length  the  chancellor  had  finished 
his  piece  of  prestidigitation,  and,  without  waiting 
for  an  order,  had  countersigned  the  passport. 
Thus  regularized,  he  returned  it  to  Otto  with  a 
bow. 

"  You  will  now,"  said  the  prince,'  "order  one 
of  my  own  carriages  to  be  prepared,  see  it,  with 
your  own  eyes,  charged  with  Sir  John's  effects, 
and  have  it  waiting  within  the  hour  behind  the 
Pheasant  House.  Sir  John  departs  this  morning 
for  Vienna." 

The  chancellor  took  his  elaborate  departure. 

"Here,  sir,  is  your  passport,"  said  Otto,  turn- 
ing to  the  baronet.  "I  regret  it  from  my  heart 
that  you  have  met  inhospitable  usage." 


PRINCE   OTTO.  87 

"  Vv'el],  there  will  be  no  English  war,"  returned 
Sir  John. 

"Nay,  sir,"  said  Otto,  "you  surely  owe  me 
your  civility.  Matters  are  now  changed,  and  we 
stand  again  upon  the  footing  of  two  gentlemen. 
It  was  not  I  who  ordered  your  arrest  ;  I  returned 
late  last  night  from  hunting  ;  and  as  you  cannot 
blame  me  for  your  imprisonment,  you  may  even 
thank  me  for  your  freedom." 

"And  yet  you  read  my  papers,"  said  the 
traveler,  shrewdly. 

"There,  sir,  I  was  wrong,"  returned  Otto  ; 
"  and  for  that  I  ask  your  pardon.  -  You  can  scarce 
refuse  it,  for  your  own  dignity,  to  one  who  is  a 
plexus  of  weaknesses.  Nor  was  the  fault  entirely 
mine.  Had  the  papers  been  innocent,  it  would 
have  been  at  most  an  indiscretion.  Your  own 
guilt  is  the  sting  of  my  offense." 

Sir  John  regarded  Otto  with  an  approving 
twinkle  ;  then  he  bowed,  but  still  in  silence. 

"Well,  sir,  as  you  are  now  at  your  entire  dis- 
posal, I  have  a  favor  to  beg  of  your  indulgence,'' 
continued  the  prince.  "I  have  to  request  that 
you  will  walk  with  me  alone  into  the  garden,  so 
soon  as  your  convenience  permits." 

"From  the  moment  that  I  am  a  free  man,"  Sir 
John  replied,  this  time  with  perfect  courtesy,  "  I 
am  wholly  at  your  highness's  command  ;  and  if 
you  will  excuse  a  rather  summary  toilet,  I  will 
even  follow  you  as  I  am." 


88  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"I  thank  you,  sir,"  said  (Xto. 

So  without  more  delay,  the  prince  leading,  the 
pair  proceeded  down  through  the  echoing  stair- 
way of  the  tower,  and  out  through  the  grating, 
into  the  ample  air  and  sunshine  of  the  morning, 
and  among  the  terraces  and  flower-beds  of  the 
garden.  They  crossed  the  fish-pond,  where  the 
carp  were  leaping  as  thick  as  bees  ;  they  mounted, 
one  after  another,  the  various  flights  of  stairs, 
snowed  upon,  as  they  went,  with  April  blossoms, 
and  marching  in  time  to  the  great  orchestra  of 
birds.  Nor  did  Otto  pause  till  they  had  reached 
the  highest  terrace  of  the  garden.  Here  was  a 
gate  into  the  park,  and  hard  by,  under  the  tuft  of 
laurel,  a  marble  garden-seat.  Hence  they  looked 
down  on  the  green  tops  of  many  elm-trees,  where 
the  rooks  were  busy  ;  and,  beyond  that,  upon  the 
palace  roof,  and  the  yellow  banner  flying  in  the 
blue.      "I  pray  you  to  be  seated,  sir,'"  said  Otto. 

Sir  John  complied  without  a  word  ;  and  for 
some  seconds  Otto  walked  to  and  fro  before  him, 
plunged  in  angry  thought.  The  birds  were  all 
singing  for  a  wager. 

"Sir,"  said  the  prince  at  length,  turning  toward 
the  Englishman,  "you  are  to  me,  except  by  the 
conventions  of  society,  a  perfect  stranger.  Of 
your  character  and  wishes  I  am  ignorant.  I  have 
never  wittingly  disobliged  you.  There  is  a  dif- 
ference m  station,  which  I  desire  to  waive.  I 
would,  if  you  still  think   me  entitled  to  so  much 


PRINCE   OTTO.  89 

consideration — I  would  be  regarded  simply  as  a 
gentleman.  Now,  sir,  I  did  wrong  to  glance  at 
these  papers,  which  I  here  return  to  you  ;  but  if 
curiosity  be  undignified,  as  I  am  free  to  own, 
falsehood  is  both  cowardly  and  cruel.  I  opened 
your  roll  ;  and  what  did  I  find — what  did  I  find 
about  my  wife. ■*  Lies!"  he  broke  out.  "They 
are  lies  !  There  are  not,  so  help  me  God  !  four 
words  of  truth  in  your  intolerable  libel.  You  are 
a  man  ;  you  are  old  and  might  be  the  girl's  father  ; 
you  are  a  gentleman  ;  you  are  a  scholar  and  have 
learned  refinement ;  and  you  rake  together  all 
this  vulgar  scandal,  and  propose  to  print  it  in  a 
public  book  !  Such  is  your  chivalry  !  But,  thank 
God,  sir,  she  has  still  a  husband.  You  say,  sir, 
in  that  paper  in  your  hand,  that  I  am  a  bad 
fencer  ;  I  have  to  request  from  you  a  lesson  in  the 
art.  The  park  is  close  behind ;  yonder  is  the 
Pheasant  House,  where  you  will  find  your  car- 
riage ;  should  I  fall,  you  know,  sir — you  have 
written  it  in  your  paper — how  little  my  movements 
are  regarded  ;  I  am  in  the  custom  of  disappear- 
ing ;  it  will  be  one  more  disappearance  ;  and  long 
before  it  has  awakened  a  remark,  you  may  be 
safe  across  the  border." 

"You  will  observe,"  said  Sir  John,    "that  what 
you  ask  is  impossible." 

"And  if  I  struck  you.''"  cried  the  prince,  with 
a  sudden,  menacing  flash. 

"  It  would  be  a  cowardly  blow,"  returned  the 


90  PRINCE   OTTO. 

baronet,  unmoved,  "  for  it  would  make  no  change. 
I  cannot  draw  upon  a  reig-ning  sovereign." 

"And  it  is  this  man,  to  whom  you  dare  not 
offer  satisfaction,  that  you  choose  to  insult ! " 
cried  Otto. 

"Pardon  me,"  said  the  traveler,  "you  are  un- 
just. It  is  because  you  are  a  reigning  sovereign 
that  I  cannot  fight  with  yon  ;  and  it  is  for  the 
same  reason  that  I  have  a  right  to  criticise  your 
action  and  your  wife.  You  are  in  everything  a 
public  creature  ;  you  belong  to  the  public,  body 
and  bone.  You  have  with  you  the  law,  the 
muskets  of  the  army,  and  the  eyes  of  spies.  We, 
on  our  side,  have  but  one  weapon — truth." 

"  Truth  !  "  echoed  the  prince,  with  a  gesture. 

There  was  another  silence. 

"Your  highness,"  said  Sir  John  at  last,  "you 
must  not  expect  grapes  from  a  thistle.  I  am  old 
and  a  cynic.  Nobody  cares  a  rush  for  me  ;  and 
on  the  whole,  after  the  present  interview,  I  scarce 
know  anybody  that  I  like  better  than  I  like  your- 
self. You  see,  I  have  changed  my  mind,  and 
have  the  uncommon  virtue  to  avow  the  change. 
I  tear  up  this  stuff  before  you,  here  in  your  own 
garden  ;  I  ask  your  pardon,  I  ask  the  pardon  of 
the  princess  ;  and  I  give  you  my  word  of  honor 
as  a  gentleman  and  an  old  man,  that,  when  my 
book  of  travels  shall  appear,  it  shall  not  contain 
so  much  as  the  name  of  Griinew^ald.  And  yet  it 
was  a  racy  chapter  !     But  had  your  highness  only 


PRINCE   OTTO.  91 

read  about  the  other  courts !  I  am  a  carrion 
crow  ;  but  it  is  not  my  fault  after  all  that  the 
world  is  such  a  nauseous  kennel." 

"  Sir,"  said  Otto,  "  is  the  eye  not  jaundiced  ?  " 

"Nay,"  cried  the  traveler,  "  very  likely.  lam 
one  who  goes  sniffing ;  I  am  no  poet.  I  believe 
in  a  better  future  for  the  world  ;  or,  at  all  ac- 
counts, I  do  most  potently  disbelieve  in  the  pres- 
ent. Rotten  eggs  is  the  burden  'of  my  song. 
But  indeed,  your  highness,  when  I  meet  with  any 
merit,  I  do  not  think  that  I  am  slow  to  recognize 
it.  This  is  a  day  that  I  shall  still  recall  with  grat- 
itude, for  I  have  found  a  sovereign  with  some 
manly  virtues  ;  and  for  once — old  courtier  and  old 
radical  as  I  am — it  is  from  the  heart  and  quite 
sincerely  that  I  can  request  the  honor  of  kissing 
your  highness's  hand.' 

"  Nay,  sir,"  said  Otto,   '-to  my  heart  !  " 

And  the  Englishman,  taken  at  unawares,  .was 
clasped  for  a  moment  in  the  prince's  arms. 

"And  now,  sir,"  added  Otto,  "there  is  the 
Pheasant  House  ;  close  behind  it  you  will  find  my 
carriage,  which  I  pray  you  to  accept.  God  speed 
you  to  Vienna  !  " 

"In  the  impetuosity  of  youth,"  replied  Sir 
John,  "your  highness  has  overlooked  one  circum- 
stance.     1  am  still  fasting." 

"Well,  sir,"  said  Otto,  smiling,  "you  are  your 
own  master  ;  you  may  go  or  stay.  But  I  warn 
you,   your  friend  may  prove  less  powerful  than 


92  PRINCE   OTTO. 

your  enemies.  The  prince,  indeed,  has  tlior- 
oughly  acquired  you  ;  he  has  all  the  will  to  help  ; 
but  to  whom  do  I  speak?  you  know  better  than  I 
do,  he  is  not  alone  in  Griinewald. " 

"There  is  a  deal  in  position,"  returned  the 
traveler,  g-ravely  nodding.  "  Gondremark  loves 
to  temporize  ;  his  policy  is  below  ground,  and  he 
fears  all  open  courses  ;  and  now  that  I  have  seen 
you  act  with  so  much  spirit,  I  will  cheerfully  risk 
myself  on  your  protection.  Who  knows  ?  You 
may  be  yet  the  better  man." 

"  Do  you  indeed  believe  so .'' "  cried  the  prince. 
"You  put  life  into  my  heart !  " 

"I  will  give  up  sketching  portraits,"  said  the 
baronet.  "I  am  a  blind  owl;  I  had  misread 
you  strangely.  And  yet  remember  this  :  a  sprint 
is  one  thing,  and  to  run  all  the  day  another.  For 
I  still  mistrust  your  constitution  :  the  short  nose, 
the  hair  and  eyes  of  several  complexions  ;  no, 
they  are  diagnostic  ;  and  I  must  end,  I  see,  as  I 
began." 

"I  am  still  a  singing  chamber-maid.'*''  said 
Otto. 

"Nay,  your  highness,  I  pray  you  to  forget 
what  I  had  written,"  said  Sir  John  ;  "I  am  not 
like  Pilate  ;  and  the  chapter  is  no  more.  Bury  it, 
if  you  love  me." 


PRINCE   OTTO.  93 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WHILE    THE    PRINCE    IS    IN    THE    ANTEROOM. 

Greatly  comforted  by  the  exploits  of  the  morn- 
ing, the  prince  turned  towards  the  princess's 
anteroom,  bent  on  a  more  difficult  enterprise. 
The  curtains  rose  before  him,  the  usher  called  his 
name,  and  he  entered  the  room  with  an  exaggera- 
tion of  his  usual  mincingand  airy  dignity.  There 
were  about  a  score  of  persons  waiting,  principally 
ladies  ;  it  was  one  of  the  few  societies  in  Griine- 
wald  where  Otto  knew  himself  to  be  popular; 
and  while  a  maid-of-honor  made  her  exit  by  a 
side  door  to  announce  his  arrival  to  the  princess, 
he  moved  round  the  apartment,  collecting  homage 
and  bestowing  compliments,  with  friendly  grace. 
Had  this  been  the  sum  of  his  duties,  he  had  been 
an  admirable  monarch.  Lady  after  lady  was  im- 
partially honored  by  his  attention. 

"  Madame,"  he  said  to  one,  "how  does  this 
happen  ?     I  find  you  daily  more  adorable. " 

"  And  your  highness  daily  browner,"  replied  the 
lady.  "We  began  equal :  O,  there  I  will  be  bold  ; 
we  have  both  beautiful  complexions.  But  while 
I  study  mine,  your  highness  tans  himself." 

"A  perfect  negro,  madame  ;    and  what  so  fitly 


94  PRINCE  OTTO. 

— being  beauty's  slave  ?  "  said  Otto.  "  Madame 
Grafinski,  when  is  our  next  play?  I  have  just 
heard  that  I  am  a  bad  actor. " 

"0  cid!''  cried  Madame  Grafinski.  "Who 
could  venture  ?     What  a  bear  !  " 

"An  excellent  man,  I  can  assure  you,"  returned 
Otto. 

"O,  never  !  O,  is  it  possible  !  "  fluted  the  lady. 
"Your  highness  plays  like  an  angel." 

"You  must  be  right,  madame ;  who  could 
speak  falsely  and  yet  look  so  charming.?  "  said 
the  prince.  "But  this  gentleman,  it  seems, 
wouldhave  preferred  me  playing  like  an  actor." 

A  sort  of  hum,  a  falsetto,  feminine  cooing, 
greeted  the  tiny  sally  ;  and  Otto  expanded  like 
a  peacock.  This  warm  atmos]:)here  of  women 
and  flattery  and  idle  chatter,  pleased  him  to  the 
marrow. 

"Madame  von  Eisenthal,  your  coiffure  is  deli- 
cious, "  he  remarked. 

"Every  one  was  saying  so,"  said  one. 

"If  I  have  pleased  Prince  Charming!"  And 
Madame  von  Eisenthal  swept  him  a  deep  courtsey 
with  a  killing  glance  of  adoration. 

"It  is  new  .-"  "  he  asked.      "Vienna  fashion.?"' 

"  Mint  new,"  replied  the  lady,  "  for  your  high- 
ness's  return.  I  felt  young  this  morning  ;  it  was 
a  premonition.  But  why,  prince,  do  you  ever 
leave  us  ? " 

"For   the  pleasure  of   the   return,'"  said  ()tto. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  95 

"I  am  like  a  dog;  I  must  bury  my  bone,   and 
then  come  back  to  gloat  upon  it." 

"Oh,  a  bone  !  Fie,  what  a  comparison  !  You 
have  brought  back  the  manners  of  the  wood," 
returned  the  lady. 

"jNIadame,  it  is  what  the  dog  has  dearest,'' 
said  the  prince.  "  But  I  observe  Madame  von 
Rosen." 

And  Otto,  leaving  the  group  to  which  he  had 
been  piping,  stepped  toward  the  embrasure  of  a 
window  where  a  lady  stood. 

The  Countess  von  Rosen  had  hitherto  been 
silent,  and  a  thought  depressed  ;  but  on  the 
approach  of  Otto  she  began  to  brighten.  She 
was  tall,  slim  as  a  nymph,  and  of  a  very  airy 
carriage  ;  and  her  face,  which  was  already 
beautiful  in  repose,  lightened  and  changed, 
flashed  into  smiles  and  glowed  with  lovely  color, 
at  the  touch  of  animation.  She  was  a  orood 
vocalist  ;  and,  even  in  speech,  her  voice  com- 
manded a  great  range  of  changes,  the  low 
notes  rich  with  tenor  quality,  the  upper  ringing, 
on  the  brink  of  laughter,  into  music.  A  gem 
of  many  faces  and  variable  hues  of  fire  ;  a 
woman  who  withheld  the  better  portion  of  her 
beauty,  and  then,  in  a  caressing  second,  flashed 
it  like  a  weapon  full  on  the  beholder  ;  now  merely 
a  tall  figure  and  a  sallow  handsome  face,  with  the 
evidence  of  a  reckless  temper,  anon  opening  like 
a  flower  to  life  and  color,  mirth  and  tenderness. 


96  PRINCE   OTTO. 

Madame  von  Rosen  had  always  a  da<jger  in 
reserve  for  the  dispatch  of  ill-assured  admirers. 
She  met  Otto  with  the  dart  of  tender  gayety. 

"  You  have  come  to  me  at  last,  Prince  Cruel," 
she  said.  "Butterfly!  Well,  and  am  I  not  to 
kiss  your  hand  .-'  "  she  added. 

"Madame,  it  is  I  who  must  kiss  yours."  And 
Otto  bowed  and  kissed  it. 

"You  deny  me  every  indulgence,"  she  said, 
smiling. 

"  And  now  what  news  in  court  ?  "  inquired  the 
prince.      "  I  come  to  you  for  my  gazette." 

"Ditch-water!"  she  replied.  "The  world  is 
all  asleep,  grown  gray  in  slumber ;  I  do  not 
remember  any  waking  movement  since  quite  an 
eternity  ;  and  the  last  thing  in  the  nature  of  a 
sensation  was  the  last  time  my  governess  was 
allowed  to  box  my  cars.  But  yet  I  do  myself  and 
your  unfortunate  enchanted  palace  some  injustice. 
Here  is  the  last — O  positively  !  "  And  she  told 
him  the  story  from  behind  her  fan,  with  many 
glances,  many  cunning  strokes  of  the  narrator's 
art.  The  others  had  drawn  away  ;  for  it  was 
understood  that  Madame  von  Rosen  was  in  favor 
with  the  prince.  None  the  less,  however,  did  the 
countess  lower  her  voice  at  times  to  within  a 
semitone  of  whispering  ;  and  tlic  ])air  leaned  to- 
gether over  the  narrative. 

"Do  you  know,"  said  Otto,  laughing,  "you 
are  the  only  entertaining  woman  in  lliis  I'rnth  ?  " 


PKr.NXE   OTTO.  97 

"Oh,  you  have  found  out  so  much?"  she 
cried. 

"Yes,  madame,  I  grow  wiser  with  advancing 
years,""  he  returned. 

"  Years  !  "  she  repeated.  "  Do  you  name  the 
traitors  ?  I  do  not  believe  in  years  ;  the  calendar 
is  a  delusion." 

"You  must  be  right,  madame,"'  replied  the 
prince.  "  For  six  years  that  we  have  been  good 
friends,  I  have  observed  you  to  grow  younger." 

"  Flatterer  !  "  cried  she,  and  then  with  a  change, 
"But  why  should  I  say  so,"  she  added,  "when  I 
protest  I  think  the  same  ?  A  week  ago  I  had  a 
council  with  my  Father  Director,  the  glass  ;  and 
the  glass  replied,  'Not  yet !  '  I  confess  my  face 
in  this  way  once  a  month.  '  Oh  !  a  very  solemn 
moment.  Do  you  know  what  I  shall  do  when 
the  mirror  answers  :    '  Now  '  ? "' 

"  I  cannot  guess,"  said  he. 

"No  more  can  I,"  returned  the  countess. 
"There  is  such  a  choice  !  Suicide,  gambling,  a 
nunnery,  a  volume  of  memoirs,  or  politics — the 
last,  I  am  afraid." 

"  It  is  a  dull  trade,"  said  Otto. 

"  Nay,"  she  repUed,  "  it  is  a  trade  I  rather  like. 
It  is  after  all  first  cousin  to  gossip,  which  no  one 
can  fleny  to  be  amusing.  For  instance,  if  I  were 
to  tell  you  that  the  princess  and  the  baron  rode 
out  together  daily  to  inspect  the  cannon,  it  is 
either  a  piece  of  politics  or  scandal,  as  I  turn  my 
7 


98  PRINCE   OTTO. 

phrase.  I  am  the  alchemist  that  makes  the  trans- 
mutation. They  have  been  everywhere  together 
since  you  left,"  she  continued,  brightening-  as  she 
saw  Otto  darken — "that  is  a  poor  snippet  of 
niahcious  gossip ;  and  they  were  everywhere 
cheered — and  with  tliat  addition  all  becomes 
political  intelligence." 

"  Let  us  change  the  subject,"  said  Otto. 

"I  was  about  to  propose  it,"' she  replied,  "or 
rather  to  pursue  the  politics.  Do  you  know  .'*  this 
war  is  popular — Oh,  but  popular  !  popular  to  the 
length  of  cheering  Princess  Seraphina. " 

"All  things,  madame,  are  possible."  said  the 
prince;  "and  this  among  others,  that  we  may 
be  going  into  war,  but  I  give  you  my  word  of 
honor  I  do  not  know  with  whom." 

"  And  you  put  up  with  it .''  "  she  cried.  "  I  have 
no  pretensions  to  morality  ;  and  I  confess  I  have 
always  abominated  the  lamb,  and  nourished  a 
romantic  feeling  for  the  wolf.  Oh,  be  done  with 
lambiness  !  Let  us  see  there  is  a  prince,  for  I  am 
weary  of  the  distaff." 

"Madame,"  said  Otto,  "I  thought  you  were 
of  that  faction." 

"  I  should  be  of  yours,  tnoii  Prince,  if  you  had 
one,"  she  retorted.  "Is  it  true  that  you  have  no 
ambition  '^  There  was  a  man  once  in  England 
whom  they  called  the  King-maker.  Do  you 
know,"  she  added,  "I  fancy  I  could  make  a 
prince  ? " 


PRINCE   OTTO.  99 

"Some  day,  madame, "  said  Otto,  "  I  may  ask 
you  to  help  make  a  farmer." 

"  Is  that  a  riddle  ?  "  asked  the  countess. 

"It  is,"  replied  the  prince,  "and  a  very  good 
one,  too." 

"Tit  for  tat.  I  will  ask  you  another,"  she 
returned.      "Where  is  Gondremark.''  " 

"The  prime  minister?  In  the  prime  ministry, 
no  doubt,"  said  Otto. 

"  Precisely,"  said  the  countess  ;  and  she  pointed 
with  her  fan  to  the  door  of  the  princess's  apart- 
ments. "You  and  I,  vion  Prince,  are  in  the 
anteroom.  You  think  me  unkind,"  she  added. 
"Try  me  and  you  will  see.  Set  me  a  task,  put 
me  a  question  ;  there  is  no  enormity  I  am  not 
capable  of  doing-  to  oblige  you,  and  no  secret  that 
I  am  not  ready  to  betray. " 

"  Nay,  madame,  but  I  respect  my  friend  too 
much,"  he  answered,  kissing  her  hand.  "  I  would 
rather  remain  ignorant  of  all.  We  fraternize  like 
ibemen  soldiers  at  the  outposts,  but  let  each  be 
true  to  his  own  army.'' 

"Ah,"  she  cried,  "if  men  were  generous  like 
you,  it  would  be  w^orth  while  to  be  a  woman  !  " 
Yet,  judging  by  her  looks,  his  generosity,  if  any- 
thing, had  disappointed  her  ;  she  seemed  to  seek 
a  remedy,  and,  having  found  it,  brightened  once 
again.  "And  now,"  she  said,  "may  I  dismiss 
my  sovereign  .?  This  is  rebellion  and  a  cas  pciid- 
ablef  but  what  am  I  to  do  ?     INIy  bear  is  jealous  !  " 


lOO  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"  Madame,  enough  !  "  cried  Otto.  "Ahasuerus 
reaches  you  the  scepter  ;  more,  he  will  obey  you 
in  all  points.  I  should  have  been  a  dog  to  come 
to  whistling." 

And  so  the  prince  departed,  and  fluttered  round 
Grafinski  and  Von  Eisenthal.  Ikit  the  countess 
knew  the  use  of  her  offensive  weapons,  and  had 
left  a  pleasant  arrow  in  the  prince's  heart.  That 
Gondremark  was  jealous — here  was  an  agreeable 
revenge  !  And  Madame  von  Rosen,  as  the  oc- 
casion of  the  jealousy  appeared  to  him  in  a  new 
light. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  lOI 


CHAPTER  V. 

GONDREMARK    IS    IN    MY    LADY's    CHAMBER. 

The  Countess  von  Rosen  spoke  the  truth.  The 
great  Prime  Minister  of  Griinevvald  was  already 
closeted  with  Seraphina.  The  toilet  was  over  ; 
and  the  princess,  tastefully  arrayed,  sat  face  to 
face  with  a  tall  mirror.  Sir  Johns  description  was 
unkindly  true,  true  in  terms  and  yet  a  libel,  a 
misogynistic  masterpiece.  Her  forehead  was 
perhaps  too  high,  but  it  became  her  ;  her  figure 
somewhat  stooped,  but  every  detail  was  formed 
and  finished  like  a  gem  ;  her  hand,  her  foot,  her 
ear,  the  set  of  her  comely  head,  were  all  dainty 
and  accordant ;  if  she  was  not  beautiful,  she  was 
vivid,  changeful,  colored  and  pretty  with  a  thou- 
sand various  prettinesses  ;  and  her  eyes,  if  they 
indeed  rolled  too  consciously,  yet  rolled  to  pur- 
pose. They  were  her  most  attractive  feature,  yet 
they  continually  bore  eloquent  false  witness  to 
her  thoughts  ;  for  while  she  herself,  in  the  depths 
of  her  immature,  unsoftened  heart,  was  given 
altogether  to  man-like  ambition  and  the  desire 
of  power,  the  eyes  were  by  turns  bold,  inviting, 
fiery,  melting,  and  artful,  like  the  eyes  of  a 
rapacious  siren.     And  artful,  in  a  sense,  she  was. 


I02  PRINCE   OTTO. 

Chilling  that  she  was  not  a  man  and  could  not 
shine  by  action,  she  had  conceived  a  woman's 
part,  of  answerable  domination  ;  she  sought  to 
subjugate  for  by-ends,  to  rain  influence  and  be 
fancy  free  ;  and  while  she  loved  not  man,  loved  to 
see  man  obey  her.  It  is  a  common  girl's  ambi- 
tion. Such  was  perhaps  the  lady  of  the  glove, 
who  sent  her  lover  to  the  lions.  But  the  snare  is 
laid  alike  for  male  and  female,  and  the  world 
most  artfully  contrived. 

Near  her,  in  a  low  chair,  Gondremark  had  ar- 
ranged his  limbs  into  a  cat-like  attitude,  high- 
shouldered,  stooping,  and  submissive.  The  for- 
midable blue  jowl  of  the  man,  and  the  dull, 
bilious  eye,  set  perhaps  a  higher  value  on  his  evi- 
dent desire  to  please.  His  face  was  marked  by 
capacity,  temper,  and  a  kind  of  bold,  piratical 
dishonestv,  which  it  would  be  calumnious  to  call 
deceit,  llis  manners,  as  he  smiled  upon  the 
princess,  were  overfine,  yet  hardly  elegant. 

"Possibly,"  said  the  baron,  "I  should  now 
proceed  to  take  my  leave.  I  must  not  keep  my 
sovereisrn  in  the  anteroom.  Let  us  come  at  once 
to  a  decision." 

■•  It  cannot,  cannot  be  put  off.-*  "  she  asked. 

'•  It  is  impossible,"  answered  Gondremark. 
"Your  highness  sees  it  for  herself.  In  the  earlier 
stages,  we  might  imitate  the  serpent  :  but  for  the 
ultimatum,  there  is  no  choice  but  to  be  bold  like 
lions.      Had   the  ])rincc   chosen  lo   remain  away, 


PRINCE   OTTO.  103 

it  had  been  better ;  but  we  have  g'one  too  far  for- 
ward to  delay. " 

"What  can  have  brought  him?"  she  cried. 
"  To-day  of  all  days  ?  " 

"  The  marplot,  madame,  has  the  instinct  of  his 
nature,"  returned  Gondremark.  "But  you  exag- 
gerate the  peril.  Think,  madame,  how  far  we 
have  prospered,  and  against  what  odds  !  Shall  a 
Featherhead  ?  l)ut  no  1  '"  And  he  blew  upon  his 
fingers  lightly  with  a  laugh. 

"  Featherhead,'"  she  replied,  "  is  still  the  Prince 
of  Griinewald. " 

"  On  your  sufferance  only,  and  so  long  as  you 
shall  please  to  be  indulgent,"  said  the  baron. 
"There  are  rights  of  nature;  power  to  the 
powerful  is  the  law.  If  he  shall  think  to  cross 
your  destiny — well,  you  have  heard  of  the  brazen 
and  the  earthen  pot.-' 

"Do  you  call  me  pot.'  You  are  ungallant, 
baron,''  laughed  the  princess. 

"Before  we  are  done  with  your  glory,  I  shall 
have  called  you  by  many  different  titles,"  he 
replied. 

The  girl  flushed  with  pleasure.  "  But  Frederic 
is  still  the  prince,  Monsieure  Ic  Flatteiir,''  she  said. 
"You  do  not  propose  a  revolution.'  you  of  all 
men  .?  " 

"Dear  madame,  when  it  is  already  made  !" 
he  cried.  "The  prince  reigns  indeed  in  the 
almanac  ;     but    my    princess    reigns    and  rules." 


104  PRINCE   OTTO. 

.\n<l  lie  looked  at  her  with  a  foiul  admiration  that 
made  the  heart  of  Seraphina  swell.  LookiiiL,^  on 
her  huge  slave,  she  drank  the  intoxicating  joys  of 
power.  Meanwhile  he  continued  with  that  sort 
of  massive  archness  that  so  ill  became  him. 
"She  has  but  one  fault  ;  there  is  but  one  danger 
in  the  great  career  that  I  foresee  for  her.  May  I 
name  it.-*  may  I  be  so  irreverent.-'  It  is  in  herself 
— ^her  heart  is  soft." 

"  Her  courage  is  faint,  baron,"  said  the  princess. 
"Suppose  we  have  judged  ill,  suppose  we  were 
defeated  .-*  " 

"Defeated,  madame.-' "returned  the  baron,  with 
a  touch  of  ill  humor.  "Is  the  dog  defeated  by 
the  hare  ?  Our  troops  are  all  cantoned  along  the 
frontier  ;  in  five  hours  the  vanguard  of  five  thou- 
sand bayonets  shall  be  hammering  on  the  gates 
of  Brandenau  ;  and  in  all  Gerolstcin  there  are  not 
fifteen  hundred  men  who  can  maneuver.  It  is 
as  simple  as  a  sum.     There  can  be  no  resistance." 

"It  is  no  great  exploit,"  she  said.  "Is  that 
what  you  call  glory  ?     It  is  like  beating  a  child."' 

"The  courage,  madame,  is  diplomatic,'  he 
replied.  "  We  take  a  grave  step  ;  we  fix  the  eyes 
of  Europe,  for  the  first  time,  on  (Iriinewald  ;  and 
in  the  ney-otiations  of  the  next  three  months, 
mark  me,  we  stand  or  fall.  It  is  there,  madame, 
that  I  shall  have  to  depend  upon  your  counsels," 
he  added,  almost  gloomily.  "  If  I  had  not  seen 
you  at  work,  if  I  did  not  know  the  fertility  of  your 


PRINCE   OTTO.  105 

mind,  I  own  I  should  tremble  for  the  consequence. 
But  it  is  in  this  tield  that  men  must  recognize  their 
inability.  All  the  great  negotiators,  when  they 
have  not  been  women,  have  had  women  at  their 
elbows.  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  ill  served  ; 
she  had  not  found  her  Gondremark  ;  but  what 
a  mighty  politician  !  Catherine  de  Medici,  too, 
what  justice  of  sight,  what  readiness  of  means, 
what  elasticity  against  defeat !  But  alas  !  madame, 
her  Fcatherheads  were  her  own  children  ;  and  she 
had  that  one  touch  of  vulgarity,  that  one  trait  of 
the  good-wife,  that  she  suffered  family  ties  and 
affections  to  confine  her  liberty." 

These  singular  views  of  history,  strictly  ad  usum 
Seraphince,  did  not  weave  their  usual  soothing 
spell  over  the  princess.  It  was  plain  that  she  had 
taken  a  momentary  distaste  to  her  own  resolu- 
tions ;  for  she  continued  to  oppose  her  counselor, 
looking  upon  him  out  of  half-closed  eyes  and 
with  the  shadow  of  a  sneer  upon  her  lips.  "  What 
boys  men  are  !  "  she  said;  "what  lovers  of  big 
words  !  Courage,  indeed  !  If  you  had  to  scour 
pans,  Herr  von  Gondremark,  you  would  call  it,  I 
suppose,  Domestic  Courage  .-*  " 

"I  would,  madame,"  said  the  baron,  stoutly, 
"if  I  scoured  them  well.  I  would  put  a  good 
name  upon  a  virtue  ;  you  will  not  overdo  it ;  they 
are  not  so  enchanting  in  themselves." 

"  Well,  but  let  me  see,"  she  said.  "  I  wish  to 
understand  your  courage.      Why  we  asked  leave, 


I06  PRINCE   OTTO. 

like  children  !  Our  grannie  in  Jicrlin,  our  uncle 
in  Vienna,  the  whole  family,  have  patted  us  on 
the  head  and  sent  us  forward.  Courage  !  I  won- 
der when  I  hear  you  !  " 

"My  princess  is  unlike  herself,"  returned  the 
baron.  "  She  has  forgotten  where  the  peril  lies. 
True,  we  have  received  ciK-ouragement  on  every 
hand  ;  but  my  princess  knows  too  well  on  what 
untenable  conditions  ;  and  she  knows  besides  how, 
in  the  publicity  of  the  diet,  these  whispered  con- 
ferences are  foro^otten  and  disowned.  The  dan- 
ger  is  very  real  '' — (he  raged  inwardly  at  having 
to  blow  the  very  coal  he  had  been  quenching) — 
"none  the  less  real  in  that  it  is  not  precisely 
military,  but  for  that  reason  the  easier  to  be  faced. 
Had  we  to  count  upon  your  troops,  although  I 
share  your  highness's  expectations  of  the  conduct 
of  Alvenau,  we  cannot  forget  that  he  has  not 
been  proved  in  chief  command.  But  where 
negotiation  is  concerned,  the  conduct  lies  with 
us  ;  and  with  your  help,  I  laugh  at  danger." 

"  It  may  be  so,"  said  Seraphina,  sighing.  "  It 
is  elsewhere  that  I  see  danger.  The  people,  these 
abominable  people — suppose  they  should  in- 
stantly rebel .''  What  a  figure  we  should  make  in 
the  eyes  of  Europe  to  have  undertaken  an  inva- 
sion, while  my  own  throne  was  tottering  to  its 
fall !  " 

"Nay,  madame,"  said  Gondremark,  smiling, 
"here  you  are  beneath  yoursc^lf      \\'hat  is  it  that 


PRINCE   OTTO.  107 

feeds  their  discontent  ?  What  but  the  taxes  ? 
Once  we  have  seized  Gerolstein,  the  taxes  are 
remitted,  the  sons  return  covered  with  renown, 
the  houses  are  adorned  with  pillage,  each  tastes 
his  little  share  of  military  glory,  and  behold  us 
once  again  a  happy  family  !  'Ay,'  they  will  say, 
in  each  other's  long  ears,  'the  princess  knew  what 
she  was  about ;  she  was  in  the  right  of  it  ;  she  has 
a  head  upon  her  shoulders  ;  and  here  we  are,  you 
see,  better  off  than  before.'  But  why  should  I 
say  all  this  ?  It  is  what  my  princess  pointed  out 
to  me  herself ;  it  was  by  these  reasons  that  she 
converted  me  to  this  adventure." 

"I  think,  Herr  von  Gondremark,"  said  Sera- 
phina,  somewhat  tartly,  "you  often  attribute 
your  own  sagacity  to  your  princess." 

For  a  second  Gondremark  staggered  under  the 
shrewdness  of  the  attack  ;  the  next,  he  had  per- 
fectly recovered.  "  Do  I .''  "  he  said.  "  It  is  very 
possible.  I  have  observed  a  similar  tendency  in 
your  highness." 

It  was  so  openly  spoken,  and  appeared  so  just, 
that  Seraphina  breathed  again.  Her  vanity  had 
been  alarmed,  and  the  greatness  of  the  relief 
improved  her  spirits.  "Well,"  she  said,  "all  this 
is  little  to  the  purpose.  We  are  keeping  Frederic 
without,  and  I  am  still  ignorant  of  our  line  of 
battle.     Come,  co-admiral,  let  us  consult." 

' '  Admiral  ?  "  replied  the  baron,  smiling.     "  How 


io8  rRI^XE  otto. 

many  years  bclorc  wc  have  an  admiral  in 
Grunewald  ?  ' 

"It  is  a  long-  way  to  the  sea,  jSIonsicur  I'ainbi- 
tieux ;  and  we  cannot  have  an  admiral  until  we 
have  a  port,"  she  answered. 

"  Oh,  a  long-  way  !  "  said  Gondremark.  "When 
a  state  begins  growing,  it  grows  by  geometrical 
progression." 

"Come, "  she  said,  "you  trifle,  IMonsieur  nion 
premier  niinistre.  How  am  I  to  receive  him 
now  }  And  what  arc  we  to  do  if  he  should  appear 
at  the  council .''  " 

"Now,"  he  answered,  "I  shall  leave  him  to 
my  princess  for  just  now  !  I  have  seen  her  at 
work.  Send  him  off  to  his  theatricals  !  But  in  all 
gentleness,"  he  added.  "Would  it,  for  instance, 
would  it  displease  my  sovereign  to  affect  a  head- 
ache .-*" 

"Never!"  said  she.  "The  woman  who  can 
manage,  like  the  man  who  can  fight,  must  never 
shrink  from  an  encounter.  The  knight  must  not 
disgrace  his  weapons." 

"  Then  let  me  pray,  my  helle  dame  sans  merci" 
he  returned,  "to  affect  the  only  virtue  that  she 
lacks.  Be  pitiful  to  the  poor  young  man  ;  affect 
an  interest  in  his  hunting  ;  be  weary  of  politics  ; 
find  in  his  society,  as  it  were,  a  grateful  repose 
from  dry  considerations.  Does  my  princess 
authorize  the  line  of  battle  .-'  " 


PRINCE   OTTO.  109 

"Well,  that  is  a  trifle,"  answered  Seraphina. 
"The  council — there  is  the  point." 

"The  council?  "  cried  Gondremark.  "Permit 
me,  madame."  And  he  rose  and  proceeded  to 
flutter  about  the  room,  counterfeiting  Otto  both 
in  voice  and  gesture  not  unhappily.  'What  is 
thereto-day,  Herr  von  Gondremark?  Ah,  Herr 
Cancellarius,  a  new  wig  !  You  cannot  deceive 
me  ;  I  know  every  wig  in  Grunewald  ;  I  have  the 
sovereign's  eye.  What  are  these  papers  about  ? 
Oh,  I  see.  Oh,  certainly.  Surely,  surely,  I 
wager  none  of  you  remarked  that  wig.  By  all 
means.  I  know  nothing  about  that.  Dear  me, 
are  there  as  many  as  all  that  ?  Well,  you  can 
sign  them  ;  you  have  the  procuration.  You  see, 
Herr  Cancellarius,  I  knew  your  wig. '  And  so," 
concluded  Gondremark,  resuming  his  own  voice, 
"our  sovereign,  by  the  particular  grace  of  God, 
enlightens  and  supports  his  privy  councilors." 

But  vi^hen  the  baron  turned  to  Seraphina  for 
approval,  he  found  her  frozen.  "  You  are  pleased 
to  be  witty,  Herr  von  Gondremark,"  she  said, 
' '  and  have  perhaps  forgotten  where  you  are.  But 
these  rehearsals  are  apt  to  be  misleading.  Your 
master,  the  Prince  of  Grunewald,  is  sometimes 
more  exacting." 

Gondremark  cursed  her  in  his  soul.  Of  all  in- 
jured vanities,  that  of  the  reproved  buffoon  is  the 
most  savage  ;  and  when  grave  issues  are  involved, 
these     petty    stabs     become     unbearable.        But 


no  PRINCE   OTTO. 

Gondremark  was  a  man  of  iron  ;  he  showed  noth- 
ing ;  he  did  not  even,  like  the  common  trickster, 
retreat  because  he  had  presumed,  but  hekl  to  his 
point  bravely.  "]\Iadame,"  he  said,  "if,  as  you 
say,  he  prove  exacting,  we  must  take  the  bull 
by  the  horns." 

"We  shall  see,"  she  said,  and  she  arranged  her 
skirts  like  one  about  to  rise.  Temper,  scorn,  dis- 
gust, all  the  more  acrid  feelings,  became  her  like 
jewels  ;  and  she  now  looked  her  best. 

"Pray  God  they  quarrel,"  thought  Gondremark. 

"The  d d  minx  may  fail  me  yet,  unless  they 

quarrel.  It  is  time  to  let  him  in.  Zz — fight, 
dogs  !  "  Consequent  on  these  reflections,  he  bent 
a  stiff  knee  and  chivalrously  kissed  the  prin- 
cess's hand.  "  INIy  princess,"  he  said,  "must now 
dismiss  her  servant.  I  have  much  to  arrange 
against  the  hour  of  council." 

"  Go,"  she  said,  and  rose. 

And  as  Gondremark  tripped  out  of  a  private 
door,  she  touched  a  bell,  and  gave  the  order  to 
admit  the  prince. 


PRINCE    UTi(J.  Ill 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    PRINCE    DELIVERS    A  'lECTURE    ON  MARRIAGE,   WITH 
PRACTICAL    ILLUSTRATIONS    OF    DIVORCE. 

With  what  a  world  of  excellent  intentions  Otto 
entered  his  wife's  cabinet !  how  fatherly,  how 
tenderly,  how  morally  affecting  were  the  words 
he  had  prepared  1  Xor  was  Seraphina  unamiably 
inclined.  Her  usual  fear  of  Otto  as  a  marplot  in 
her  great  designs  was  now  swallowed  up  in  a 
passing  distrust  of  the  designs  themselves.  For 
Gondremark,  besides,  she  had  conceived  an  angry 
horror.  In  her  heart  she  did  not  like  the  baron. 
Behind  his  impudent  servility,  behind  the  devotion 
which,  with  indelicate  delicacy,  he  still  forced  on 
her  attention,  she  divined  the  grossness  of  his 
nature.  So  a  man  maybe  proud  of havingtamed 
a  bear,  and  yet  sicken  at  his  captive's  odor.  And 
above  all,  she  had  certain  jealous  intimations  that 
the  man  was  false,  and  the  deception  double.  True, 
she  falsely  trifled  with  his  love  :  but  he,  perhaps, 
was  only  trifling  with  her  vanity.  The  innocence 
of  his  late  mimicry  and  the  odium  of  her  own 
position  as  she  sat  and  watched  it,  lay  besides 
like  a  load  upon  her   conscience.     She  met  Otto, 


I  12  I'RIMl-:    OTIT). 

almost  With  a  sense  of  guilt,  and  yet  she  Avelcomcd 
him  as  a  deliverer  from  ugly  things. 

But  the  wheels  of  an  interview  are  at  the  mercy 
f  a  thousand  ruts  ;  and  even  at  Otto's  entrance, 
the  first  jolt  occurred.  Gondremark,  he  saw,  was 
gone  ;  but  there  was  the  chair  drav.'n  close  for 
consultation  ;  and  it  pained  him,  not  only  that 
this  man  had  been  received,  but  that  he  should 
tlepart  with  such  an  air  of  secrecy.  Struggling 
with  this  twinge,  it  was  somewhat  sharply  that 
he  dismissed  the  attendant  who  had  brought  him 
in. 

"You  make  yourself  at  home  chef  inoi"  she 
said,  a  little  ruffled  both  by  his  tone  of  command 
and  by  the  glance  he  had  thrown  upon  the  chair. 

' '  Madame, "  replied  Otto,  ' '  I  am  here  so  seldom 
that  I  have  almost  the  rights  of  a  stranger." 

"You  choose  your  own  associates,  Frederic," 
she  said. 

"  I  am  here  to  speak  of  it,"  he  returned.  "  It 
is  now  four  years  since  we  were  married  ;  and 
these  four  years,  Seraphina,  have  not  perhaps 
been  happy  either  for  you  or  for  me.  I  am  well 
aware  I  was  unsuitable  to  be  your  husband.  1 
was  not  young,  I  had  no  ambition,  I  was  a 
triflcr ;  and  you  despised  me,  I  dare  not  say 
unjustly.  But  to  do  justice  on  both  sides  you 
must  bear  in  mind  how  1  liave  acted.  When  I 
found  it  amused  you  to  play  the  part  of  princess 
on  this  little  stage,  did  T  not  immediately  resign 


PRINCE   OTTO.  113 

to  you  my  box  of  toys,  this  Griinewald  ?  And 
when  I  found  I  was  distasteful  as  a  husband, 
could  any  husband  have  been  less  intrusive  ?  You 
will  tell  me  that  I  have  no  feelings,  no  preference, 
and  thus  no  credit  ;  that  I  go  before  the  wind  ; 
that  all  this  was  in  my  character  ;  and  indeed, 
one  thing  is  true,  that  it  is  easy,  too  easy,  to 
leave  things  undone  ;  but,  Seraphina,  I  begin  to 
learn  it  is  not  always  wise.  If  I  were  too  old 
and  too  uncongenial  for  your  husband,  I  should 
still  have  remembered  that  I  was  the  prince  of 
that  country  to  which  you  came,  a  visitor  and  a 
child.  In  that  relation  also,  there  were  duties, 
and  these  duties  I  have  not  performed.'' 
'  To  claim  the  advantage  of  superior  age  is  to 
give  sure  offense.  "  Duty  !  "  laughed  Seraphina, 
"and  on  your  lips,  Frede'ric  !  You  make  me 
laugh.  What  fancy  is  this .'  Go,  flirt  with  the 
maids  and  be  a  prince  in  Dresden  China,  as  you 
look.  Enjoy  yourself,  mo7i  enfant,  and  leave 
duty  and  the  state  to  us." 

The  plural  grated  on  the  prince.  "I  have 
enjoyed  myself  too  much,  "he  said,  "  since  enjoy- 
ment is  the  word.  And  yet  there  were  much  to 
say  upon  the  other  side.  You  must  suppose  me 
desperately  fond  of  hunting.  But  indeed  there 
were  days  when  T  found  a  great  deal  of  interest 
in  what  it  was  courtesy  to  call  my  government. 
And  I  have  always  had  some  claim  to  taste  ;  I 

could  tell  live  happiness  from  dull  routine  ;  and 
8 


1  14  PRINCE   OTTO. 

between  hunting,  and  the  throne  of  Austria,  and 
your  society,  my  choice  had  never  wavered,  had 
the  choice  been  mine.  You  were  a  girl,  a  bud, 
when  you  were  given  me — " 

"  Heavens  !"  she  cried,  "is  this  to  be  a  love 
scene .-'  " 

"I  am  never  ridiculous, "  he  said;  "it  is  my 
only  merit  ;  and  you  may  be  certain  this  shall  be 
a  scene  of  marriage  a  la  mode.  But  when  I  re- 
member the  beginning,  it  is  bare  courtesy  to  speak 
in  sorrow.  Be  just,  madame  :  you  would  think 
me  strangely  uncivil  to  recall  these  days  without 
the  decency  of  a  regret.  Be  yet  a  little  juster, 
and  own,  if  only  in  complaisance,  that  you  your- 
self regret  that  past. " 

"I  have  nothing  to  regret,"  said  the  princess. 

"You  surprise  me.  I  thought  you  were  so 
happy." 

"  Happy  and  happy,  there  are  so  many  hun- 
dred ways,"  said  Otto.  "  A  man  may  be  happy 
in  revolt ;  he  may  be  happy  in  sleep ;  wine, 
change,  and  travel  make  him  happy  ;  virtue,  they 
say,  will  do  the  like — I  have  not  tried ;  and 
they  say  also  that  in  old,  quiet  and  habitual  mar- 
riages, there  is  yet  another  happiness.  Happy, 
yes  ;  I  am  happy  if  you  like  ;  but  I  will  tell  you 
frankly,  I  was  happier  when  I  brought  you 
home." 

"Well,"  said  the  princess,  not  without  con- 
straint,   "  it  seems  you  changed  your  mind." 


PRINCE   OTTO.  115 


"Not  I,"  returned  Otto;  "I  never  changed. 
Do  you  remember,  Seraphina,  on  our  way  home, 
when  you  saw  the  roses  in  the  lane,  and  I  got 
out  and  pkicked  them?  It  was  a  narrow  lane 
between  great  trees;  and  at  the  end  the  sunset 
was  all  gold,  and  overhead  the  rooks  were  flying. 
There  were  nine,  nine  red  roses  ;  you  gave  me  a 
kiss  for  each,  and  I  told  myself  that  every  rose 
and  every  kiss  should  stand  for  a  year  of  love. 
Well,  in  eighteen  months  there  was  an  end.  But 
do  you  fancy,  Seraphina,  that  my  heart  has 
altered  ? " 

"I  am  sure  I  cannot  tell,"  she  said,  Hke  an 
automaton. 

"It  has  not,"  the  prince  continued.  "There 
is  nothing  ridiculous,  even  for  a  husband,  in  a 
love  that  owns  itself  unhappy  and  that  asks  no 
more.  I  built  on  sand ;  pardon  me,  I  do  not 
breathe  a  reproach — I  built,  I  suppose,  upon  my 
own  infirmities,  but  I  put  my  heart  in  the  build- 
ing, and  it  still  lies  among  the  ruins." 

"How  very  poetical!"  she  said  with  a  little 
choking  laugh,  unknown  relentings,  unfamiliar 
softnesses,  moving  within  her.  "What  would 
you  be  at  ?  "  she  added,  hardening  her  voice. 

' '  I  would  be  at  this, "  he  answered  ;  ' '  and  hard 
it  is  to  say.  I  would  be  at  this  :  Seraphina,  I  am 
your  husband,  after  all,  and  a  poor  fool  that  loves 
you.  Understand,"  he  cried  almost  fiercely,  "I 
am  no  suppliant  husl);ind  ;  what  your  love  refuses. 


I  1 6  PRINCE    OTTO. 

I  would  scorn  to  receive  from  your  pity.  I  do 
not  ask,  I  would  not  take  it.  And  for  jealousy, 
what  ground  have  1  ?  A  dog--in-the-mangcr  jeal- 
ousy is  a  thing  the  dogs  may  laugh  at.  But  at 
least,  in  the  world's  eye,  I  am  still  your  husband ; 
and  I  ask  you  if  you  treat  me  fairly  ?  I  keep  to 
myself,  I  leave  you  free,  I  have  given  you  in 
everything  your  will.  What  do  you  in  return  .-' 
I  find,  Seraphina,  that  you  have  been  too  thought- 
less. But  between  persons  such  as  we,  in  our 
conspicuous  station,  particular  care  and  a  par- 
ticular courtesy  are  owing.  Scandal  is  perhaps 
not  easy  to  avoid  ;  but  it  is  hard  to  bear.'' 

"Scandal!"  she  cried,  with  a  deep  breath. 
"Scandal!  It  is  for  this  you  have  been  driv- 
mg! 

"I  have  tried  to  tell  you  how  I  feel,"  he  re- 
plied. "I  have  told  you  that  I  love  you — love 
you  in  vain — a  bitter  thing  for  a  husband  ;  I  have 
laid  myself  open  that  I  might  speak  without  of- 
fense. And  now  that  I  have  begun,  I  will  go  on 
and  finish." 

"I  demand  it,"  she  said.  "What  is  this 
about .''  " 

Otto  flushed  crimson.  "I  have  to  say  what  I 
would  fain  not, "  he  answered.  "  I  counsel  you 
to  see  less  of  Gondremark. " 

"Of  Gondremark.''     And  why?"  she  asked. 

"Your  intimacy  is  the  ground  of  scandal,  ma- 
daine,  "said  (Xto,  fnml)'  enough — "of  a  scandal 


PRINCE    OTTO,  117 

that  is  agony   to  me,  and  would  be  crushing;  to 
your  parents  if  they  knew  it." 

"You  are  the  first  to  bring-  me  word  of  it,"  said 
she.      "  I  thank  you." 

"You  have  perhaps  cause,"  he  replied.     "  Per- 
haps I  am  alone  among  your  friends — " 

"  Oh,  leave  my  friends  alone,"  she  interrupted. 
"  My  friends  are  of  a  different  stamp.  You  have 
come  to  me  here  and  made  a  parade  of  senti- 
ment. When  have  I  last  seen  you  ?  I  have  gov- 
erned your  kingdom  for  you  in  the  meanwhile, 
and  there  I  got  no  help.  At  last,  when  I  am 
weary  with  a  man's  work,  and  you  are  weary  of 
your  playthings,  you  return  to  make  me  a  scene 
of  conjugal  reproaches — the  grocer  and  his  wife  ! 
The  positions  are  too  much  reversed ;  and  you 
should  understand,  at  least,  that  I  cannot  at  the 
same  time  do  your  work  of  government  and 
behave  myself  like  a  little  girl.  Scandal  is  the 
atmosphere  in  which  we  live — we  princes  ;  it  is 
what  a  prince  should  know.  You  play  an  odious 
part.      Do  you  believe  this  rumor  ?  " 

"Madame,  should  I  be  here  ?  "  said  Otto. 
"It  is  what  I  want  to  know  !  "  she  cried,  the 
tempest  of  her  scorn  increasing.      "Suppose  you 
did — I  say,  suppose  you  did  believe  it  ?  " 

"  I  should  make  it  my  business  to  suppose  the 
contrary,"  he  answered. 

"I  thought  so.     Oh,   you  are  made  of  base- 
ness !  "  said  she. 


Il8  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"Madame,"  he  cried,  roused  at  last,  "enough 
of  this.  You  willfully  misunderstand  my  attitude  ; 
you  outwear  my  patience.  In  the  name  of  your 
parents,  in  my  own  name,  I  summon  you  to  be 
more  circumspect.  ' 

"Is  this  a  request,  Monsieur  vion  viari!"  she 
demanded. 

"jMadame,  if  I  chose,  I  might  command,"  said 
Otto. 

"You  might,  sir,  as  the  law  stands,  make  me 
prisoner,"  returned  Seraphina.  ''Short  of  that 
you  will  gain  nothing.'' 

"  You  will  continue  as  before.-*  '*  he  asked. 

"  Precisely  as  before,'"  said  she.  "  As  soon  as 
this  comedy  is  over,  I  shall  request  the  Freiherr 
von  Gondremark  to  visit  me.  Do  you  under- 
stand.'" she  added,  rising.  "For  my  part,  I  have 
done. " 

"  I  will  then  ask  the  favor  of  your  hand,  mad- 
ame, ''  said  Otto,  palpitating  in  every  pulse  with 
-anger.  "  I  have  to  request  that  you  will  visit  in 
my  society  another  part  of  my  poor  house.  And 
reassure  yourself — it  will  not  take  long — and  it  is 
the  last  obligation  that  you  shall  have  the  chance 
*o  lay  me  under." 

"The  last  .''  "  she  cried.      "  Most  joyfully  ! 

She  offered  her  hand,  and  he  took  it ;  on  each 
side  with  an  elaborate  affectation,  each  inwardly 
incandescent.  He  led  her  out  by  the  private 
door,   following  where  Gondremark  had  passed  ; 


PRINCE   OTTO.  I  19 

they  threaded  a  corridor  or  two,  little  frequented, 
looking  on  a  court,  until  they  came  at  last  into 
the  prince's  suite.  The  first  room  was  an  armory, 
hung  all  about  with  the  weapons  of  various  coun- 
tries, and  looking  forth  on  the  front  terrace. 

"  Have  you  brought  me  here  to  slay  me? "  she 
inquired. 

"I  have  brought  you,  madame,  only  to  pass 
on,"  replied  Otto. 

Next  they  came  to  a  library,  where  an  old 
chamberlain  sat  half  asleep.  He  rose  and  bowed 
before  the  princely  couple,  asking  for  orders. 

"You  will  attend  us  here,"  said  Otto. 

The  next  stage  was  a  gallery  of  pictures,  where 
Seraphina's  portrait  hung  conspicuous,  dressed 
for  the  chase,  red  roses  in  her  hair,  as  Otto,  in 
the  first  months  of  marriage,  had  directed.  He 
pointed  to  it,  without  a  word.  She  raised  her 
eyebrows  in  silence  ;  and  they  passed  still  for- 
ward into  a  matted  corridor  where  four  doors 
opened.  One  led  to  Otto's  bedroom  ;  one  was 
the  private  door  to  Seraphina's.  And  here,  for 
thfe  first  time.  Otto  left  her  hand,  and  stepping 
forward,  shot  the  bolt. 

"It  is  long,  madame,"  said  he,  "since  it  was 
bolted  on  the  other  side." 

"  One  was  effectual,"  returned  the  princess. 
"  Is  this  all  ?  " 

"  Shall  I  reconduct  you  ?  "  he  asked,  bowing. 

"  I   should    prefer,"    she     replied,    in    ringing 


I20  PRINCK    OTTO. 

tones,   "the    conduct    of   the  Frciherr  von    Gon- 
dremark. " 

Otto  summoned  the  cliambeiiain.  "If  the 
Freiherr  von  Gondremark  is  in  the  palace, "  he  said, 
"bid  him  attend  the  princess  here."  And  when 
the  oflicial  had  departed,  "  Can  I  do  more  to  serve 
you,  machime  ?  "  the  prince  asked. 

"  Thank  you,  no.  I  have  been  much  amused,'' 
she  answered. 

"I  have  now,"  continued  Otto,  "given  you 
your  Hbcrty  complete.  This  has  been  for  you  a 
miserable  marriage. " 

"  Miserable  !  "  said  she. 

"  It  has  been  made  light  to  you  ;  it  shall  be 
lighter  still,"  continued  the  prince.  "  But  one 
thing,  madame,  you  must  still  continue  to  bear — 
my  father's  name,  which  is  now  yours.  I  leave 
it  in  your  hands.  Let  me  see  you,  since  you  will 
have  no  advice  of  mine,  apply  the  more  attention 
of  your  own  to  bear  it  worthily. " 

"  Herr  von  Gondremark  is  long  in  coming,"  she 
remarked. 

"Oh,  Seraphina,  Seraphina  !  "  he  cried.  And 
that  was  the  end  of  their  interview. 

She  tripped  to  a  window  and  looked  out  ;  and  a 
little  after,  the  chamberlain  announced  the  Frei- 
herr von  Gondremark,  who  entered  with  some- 
thing of  a  wild  eye  and  changed  complexion, 
confounded,  as  he  was,  at  this  unusual  summons. 
The  princess  faced  round  from  the  window  with 


PRINCE   OTTO.  I2t 

a  pearly  smile  ;  nothing  but  her  heightened  color 
spoke  of  discomposure.  Otto  was  pale,  but  he 
was  otherwise  the  master  of  himself. 

"  Herr  von  Gondremark, "  said  he,  "  oblige  me 
so  far  :  reconduct  the  princess  to  her  own  apart- 
ment. " 

The  baron,  still  -all  at  sea,  offered  his  hand, 
which  was  smilingly  accepted,  and  the  pair  sallied 
forth  through  the  picture  gallery. 

As  soon  as  they  were  gone,  and  Otto  knew  the 
length  and  breadth  of  his  miscarriage,  and  how 
he  had  done  the  contrary  of  all  that  he  intended, 
he  stood  stupefied.  A  fiasco  so  complete  and 
sweeping,  even  to  himself,  was  laughable  ;  and 
he  laughed  aloud  in  his  wrath.  Upon  this  mood 
there  followed  the  sharpest  violence  of  remorse  ; 
and  to  that  again,  as  he  recalled  his  provocation, 
aneer  succeeded  afresh.  So  he  was  tossed  in 
spirit  ;  now  bewailing  his  inconsequence  and  lack 
of  temper,  now  flaming  up  in  white-hot  indigna- 
tion and  a  noble  pity  for  himself. 

He  paced  his  apartment  like  a  leopard.  There 
was  danger  in  Otto,  for  a  flash.  Like  a  pistol  he 
could  kill  at  one  moment,  and  the  next  he  might 
be  kicked  aside.  But  just  then,  as  he  walked  the 
long  floors  in  his  alternate  humors,  tearing  his 
handkerchief  between  his  hands,  he  was  strung  to 
his  top  note,  every  nerve  attent.  The  pistol,  you 
might  say,  was  charged.  And  when  jealousy 
from  time  to  time  fetched  him  a  lash  across  the 


122  PRINCE   OTTO. 

tcndercst  of  his  feeling-,  aiul  sent  a  striny;  of  lier 
fire-pictures  glancing  before  his  mind's  eye,  the 
contraction  of  his  face  was  even  dangerous.  He 
disregarded  jealousy's  inventions,  yet  they  stung. 
In  this  height  of  his  anger,  he  still  preserved  his 
faith  in  Seraphina's  innocence  ;  but  the  thought  of 
her  possible  misconduct  was  still  the  bitterest 
ingredient  in  his  pot  of  sorrow. 

There  came  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  the  cham. 
berlain  brought  him  a  note.  He  took  it  and 
ground  it  in  his  hand,  continuing  his  march, 
continuing  his  bewildered  thoughts  ;  and  some 
minutes  had  gone  by  before  the  circumstance 
came  clearly  to  his  mind.  Then  he  paused  and 
opened  it.  It  was  a  pencil  scratch  from  Gotthold, 
thus  conceived  : 

"The  council  is  privately  summoned  at  once. 

"G.   V.    H." 

If  the  council  was  thus  called  before  the  hour, 
and  that  privately,  it  was  plahi  they  feared  his 
interference.  Feared  :  hereAvas  a  sweet  thought. 
Gotthold,  too— Gotthold,  who  had  always  used 
and  regarded  him  as  a  mere  pleasant  lad,  had  now 
been  at  the  pains  to  warn  him  ;  Gotthold  looked 
for  something  at  his  hands.  Well,  none  should 
be  disappointed  ;  the  prince,  too  long  beshado wed 
by  the  uxorious  lover,  should  now  return  and 
shine.       He   summoned   his   valet,    repaired  the 


PRINCE   OTTO.  123 

order  of  his  appearance  with  elaborate  care  ;  and 
then,  curled,  and  scented,  and  adorned,  Prince 
Charming  in  every  line,  but  with  a  twitching 
nostril,  he  set  forth  unattended  for  the  council. 


124  TRINCE   OTTO. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    PRINCK    DISSOLVES    THE    COUNCIL. 

It  was  as  Gotthold  wrote.  The  liberation  of 
Sir  John,  Greisengesang's  uneasy  narrative,  last 
of  all,  the  scene  between  Seraphina  and  the  prince, 
had  decided  the  conspirators  to  take  a  step  of  bold 
timidity.  There  had  been  a  period  of  bustle, 
liveried  messengers  speeding  here  and  there  with 
notes  ;  and  at  half-past  ten  in  the  morning,  about 
an  hour  before  its  usual  hour,  the  council  of 
Griinewald  sat  around  the  board. 

It  was  not  a  large  body.  At  the  instance  of 
Gondremark,  it  had  undergone  a  strict  purgation, 
and  was  now  composed  exclusively  of  tools. 
Three  secretaries  sat  at  a  side  table.  Seraphina 
took  the  head  ;  on  her  right  was  the  baron,  on  her 
left  Greisengesang ;  below  these  Grafinski  the 
treasurer,  Count  Eisenthal,  a  couple  of  non-com- 
batants, and,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  Gotthold. 
He  had  been  named  a  privy-councilor  by  Otto 
merely  that  he  might  profit  by  the  salary  ;  and  as 
he  was  never  known  to  attend  a  meeting,  it  had 
occurred  to  nobody  to  cancel  his  appointment. 
His  present  appearance  was  the  more  ominous, 


PRINCE    OTTO.  125 

coming  when  it  did.  Gondremark  scowled  upon 
him  ;  and  the  non-combatant  on  his  right,  inter- 
cepting this  black  look,  edged  away  from  one 
who  was  so  clearly  out  of  favor. 

"The  hour  presses,  your  highness,"  said  the 
baron  ;    "  may  we  proceed  to  business  ?  " 

"  At  once,"  replied  Seraphina. 

"  Your  highness  will  pardon  me,"  said  Gotthold; 
"but  you  are  still,  perhaps,  unacquainted  with 
the  fact  that  Prince  Otto  has  returned." 

"The  prince  will  not  attend  the  council," 
replied  Seraphina,  with  a  momentary  blush. 
"The  dispatches,  Ilcrr  Cancellarius  ?  There  is 
one  for  Gerolstein  .'  " 

A  secretary  brought  a  paper. 

"  Here,  madame,"  saidGreisengesang.  "Shall 
I  read  it .-'  " 

"We  are  all  familiar  with  its  terms, "  replied 
Gondremark.      "Your  highness  approves.''" 

"Unhesitatingly,"  said  Seraphina. 

"It  may  then  be  held  as  read,"  concluded  the 
baron.      "Will  your  highness  sign  }  " 

The  princess  did  so  ;  Gondremark,  Eisenthal, 
and  one  of  the  non-combatants  followed  suit  ; 
and  the  paper  was  then  passed  across  the  table 
to  the  librarian.  He  proceeded  leisurely  to 
read. 

"We  have  no  time  to  spare,  Herr  Doctor," 
cried  the  baron  brutally.  "  If  you  do  not  choose 
to  sign  on  the  authority  of  your  sovereign,  pass  it 


126  PRINCE    OTTO. 

on.      Or   you    may  leave  the  table, "  he  added,  his 
temper  ripping  out. 

"I  decline  your  invitation,  Herr  von  Ciondre- 
mark  ;  and  my  sovereign,  as  I  continue  to  observe 
with  regret,  is  still  absent  from  the  board,"  replied 
the  doctor  calmly  ;  and  he  resumed  the  perusal  of 
the  paper ;  the  rest  chafing  and  exchanging 
glances.  "Madame  and  gentlemen, "  he  said  at 
last,  "  what  I  hold  in  my  hand  is  simply  a  decla- 
ration of  war. " 

"Simply,"  said  Scraphina,  flashing  defiance. 

"The  sovereign  of  this  country  is  under  the 
same  roof  with  us, '' continued  Gotthold,  "and  I 
insist  he  shall  be  summoned.  It  is  needless  to 
adduce  my  reasons  ;  you  are  all  ashamed  at  heart 
of  this  projected  treachery." 

The  council  waved  lilce  a  sea.  There  were 
various  outcries.  "Vou  insult  the  princess," 
thundered  Gondremark. 

"  I  maintain  my  protest,''  replied  Gotthold. 

At  the  height  of  this  confusion,  the  door  was 
thrown  open  ;  an  usher  announced,  "  Cientlemen, 
the  prince  !  "  and  Otto,  with  his  most  excellent 
bearing,  entered  the  apartment.  It  was  like  oil 
upon  the  troubled  waters  ;  every  one  settled  in- 
stantly into  his  place,  and  Greisengesang,  to  give 
himself  a  countenance,  became  absorbed  in  the 
arrangement  of  his  papers  ;  but  in  (heir  eagerness 
to  dissemble,  one  and  all  neglected  to  rise. 

"  Cjentlemen,"  said  the  jjrince,  pausing. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  127 

They  all  g-ot  to  their  feet  in  a  moment ;  and  this 
reproof  still  further  demoralized  the  weaker 
brethren. 

The  prince  moved  slowly  toward  the  lower  end 
of  the  table  ;  then  he  paused  again,  and,  fixing 
his  eye  on  Greisengesang,  "  How  comes  it,  Herr 
Cancellarius,"  he  asked,  "  that  I  have  received  no 
notice  of  the  change  of  hour?  " 

"Your  highness,"  replied  the  chancellor,  "her 
highness  the  princess — "  and  there  paused. 

"  I  understood,"  said  Seraphina,  taking  him  up, 
"  that  you  did  not  purpose  to  be  present." 

Their  eyes  met  for  a  second,  and  Seraphina's 
fell  ;  but  her  anger  only  burned  the  brighter  for 
that  private  shame. 

"And  now,  gentlemen,"  said  Otto,  taking  his 
chair,  "I  pray  you  to  be  seated.  I  have  been 
absent,  there  are  doubtless  some  arrears  ;  but  ere 
we  proceed  to  business,  Herr  Grafinski,  you  will 
direct  four  thousand  crowns  to  be  sent  to  me  at 
once.  Make  a  note  if  you  please,"  he  added,  as 
the  treasurer  still  stared  in  wonder. 

"  Four  thousand  crowns.?"  asked  Seraphina. 
pray,  for  what .''  " 

"  INIadame,"  returned  Otto,  smiling,  "for  my 
own  purposes." 

Gondremark  spurred  up  Grafinski  underneath 
the  table.  "  If  your  highness  will  indicate  the 
destination — "  began  the  puppet. 


128  I'RINfK    OT'lO. 

"You  are  not  here,  sir,  to  interrogate  your 
prince,"  said  Otto. 

Grafinski  looked  for  help  to  his  commander  ; 
and  Gondremark  came  to  his  aid,  in  suave  and 
measured  tones.  "Your  highness  may  reason- 
ably be  surprised,"  he  said  ;  "  and  Herr  Grafinski, 
although  I  am  convinced  he  is  clear  of  the  in- 
tention of  offending,  would  have  perhaps  done 
better  to  begin  with  an  explanation.  The  re- 
sources of  the  State  are  at  the  present  moment 
entirely  swallowed  up,  or,  as  we  liope  to  prove, 
wisely  invested.  In  a  month  from  now,  I  do  not 
question  we  shall  be  able  to  nieet  any  command 
your  highness  may  lay  upon  us  ;  but  at  this 
hour  I  fear  that,  even  in  so  small  a  matter,  he 
must  prepare  himself  for  disappointment.  Our 
zeal  is  no  less,  although  our  power  may  be  in- 
adequate." 

"How  much,  Herr  Grafinski,  have  we  in  the 
treasury  ?  "  asked  Otto. 

"Your highness, "  protested  the  treasurer,  "we 
have  immediate  need  of  every  crown." 

"I  think,  sir,  you  evade  me,"  flashed  the 
prince  ;  and  then  turning  to  the  side  table,  "  Mr. 
Secretary,"  he  added,  "bring  me,  if  you  please, 
the  treasury  docket." 

Herr  Grafinski  became  deadly  ]iale  :  the  chan- 
cellor, expecting  his  own  turn,  was  prol)ably  en- 
gaged in  pr.'iycr  ;  ( joiidrema'k  was  wati'liing  like  a 
poiulrrous  cat.       (jottliold,   on    liis  pait,   locked  on 


* 


PRINCE   OTTO.  129 

with  wonder  at  his  cousin  ;  lie  was  certainly  show- 
ing spirit,  but  what,  in  such  a  time  of  gravity,  was 
all  this  talk  of  money?  and  why  should  he  waste 
his  strength  upon  a  personal  issue  ? 

"  I  iind,"  said  Otto,  with  his  finger  on  the 
docket,   "that  we  have  20,000  crowns  in  case." 

"That  is  exact,  your  highness,"  replied  the 
baron.  "But  our  liabilities,  all  of  which  are 
happily  not  liquid,  amount  to  a  far  larger  sum  ; 
and  at  the  present  point  of  time,  it  would  be 
morally  impossible  to  divert  a  single  florin.  Es- 
sentially, the  case  is  empty.  We  have,  already 
presented,  a  large  note  for  material  of  war." 

"  INIaterial  of  war.?"  exclaimed  Otto,  with  ar 
excellent  assumption  of  surprise.  "But  if  my 
memory  serves  me  right,  wc  settled  these  accounts 
in  January." 

"There  have  been  further  orders,"  the  baror 
explained.  "A  new  park  of  artillery  has  been 
completed  ;  live  hundred  stand  of  arms,  seven 
hundred  baggage  mules — the  details  are  in  a 
special  memorandum.  Mr.  Secretary  Holtz,  the 
memorandum,  if  you  please." 

"One  would  think,  gentlemen,  that  we  were 
going  to  war,"  said  Otto. 

"We  are,"  said  Seraphina. 

"War  !  "  cried  the  prince.      "And,  gentlemen, 
with  whom.?     The  peace  of  Griinewald  has  en- 
dured   for    centuries.      What    aggression,     what 
insult  have  we  suffered  ?  " 
9 


130  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"  Here,  your  highness,"  said  Gotthokl,  "is  the 
ultimatum.  It  was  in  the  very  article  of  signature, 
when  your  highness  so  opportunely  entered." 

Otto  laid  the  paper  before  him  ;  as  he  read,  his 
fingers  played  tattoo  upon  the  table.  "Was  it 
proposed,"  he  inquired,  "  to  send  this  paper  forth 
without  a  knowledge  of  my  pleasure.?  " 

One  of  the  non-combatants,  eager  to  trim, 
volunteered  an  answer.  "The  Herr  Doctor  von 
Hohenstockwitz  had  just  entered  his  dissent,"  he 
added. 

"Give  me  the  rest  of  this  correspondence,"  said 
the  prince.  It  was  handed  to  him,  and  he  read  it 
patiently  from  end  to  end,  while  the  councilors 
sat  fooli.shly  enough  looking  before  them  on  the 
table.  The  secretaries,  in  the  background,  were 
exchanging  glances  of  ilelight ;  a  row  at  the 
council  was  for  them  a  rare  and  welcome  feature. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Otto,  when  he  had  finished, 
"  I  have  read  with  pain.  This  claim  upon 
Obermiinsterol  is  palpably  unjust  ;  it  has  not  a 
tincture,  not  a  show  of  justice.  There  is  not  in 
all  this  ground  enough  for  after-dinner  talk,  and 
you  propose  to  force  it  as  a  casus  belli." 

"  Certainly,  your  highness,"  returned  Gondre- 
mark,  too  wise  to  defend  the  indefensible,  "the 
claim  on  Obermiinsterol  is  simply  a  pretext." 

"It  is  well,"  said  the  prince.  "  Herr  Cancel- 
larius,  take  your  pen.  'The  council,'  "  he  began 
to   dictate — "I   withhold  all  notice  of  my  inter- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  131 

vention,"  he  said,  in  parenthesis  and  addressing- 
himself  more  directly  to  his  wife;  "and  I  say 
nothing  of  the  strange  suppression  by  which  this 
business  has  been  smuggled  past  my  knowledge. 
I  am  content  to  be  in  time.  'The  council,'"  he 
resumed,  "  '  on  a  further  examination  of  the  facts, 
and  enlightened  by  the  note  in  the  last  dispatch 
from  Gerolstein,  have  the  pleasure  to  announce 
that  they  are  entirely  at  one,  both  as  to  fact  and 
sentiment,  with  the  Grand  Ducal  Court  of  Gerol- 
stein.' You  have  it.'  Upon  these  lines,  sir,  you 
will  draw  up  the  dispatch." 

"If  your  highness  will  allow  me,"  said  the 
baron,  "  your  highness  is  so  imperfectly  acquaint- 
ed with  the  internal  history  of  this  correspondence, 
that  any  interference  will  be  merely  hurtful. 
Such  a  paper  as  your  highness  proposes  would  be. 
to  stultify  the  whole  previous  policy  of  Griine- 
wald. " 

"  The  policy  of  Griinewald  !  "  cried  the  prince. 
"One    would    suppose    you    had    no   sense    of 
humor  !     Would  you  fish  in  a  coffee-cup  I  " 

"With  deference,  your  highness,"  returned  the 
baron,  "even  in  a  coffee-cup,  there  may  be 
poison.  The  purpose  of  this  war  is  not  simply 
territorial  enlargement  ;  still  less  is  it  a  war  of 
glory  ;  for,  as  your  highness  indicates,  the  state  of 
Grunewald  is  too  small  to  be  ambitious.  But  the 
body  politic  is  seriously  diseased  ;  republicanism, 
socialism,  many  disintegrating  ideas  are  abroad  ; 


132  rUIXCE    OTTO. 

circle  within  circle,  a  really  formidable  organiza- 
tion has  grown  up  about  your  highness's  throne." 

"  I  have  heard  of  it,  Herr  von  Gondremark," 
put  in  the  prince;  "but  I  have  reason  to  be 
aware  that  yours  is  the  more  authoritative  infor- 
mation." 

"I  am  honored  by  this  expression  of  my 
prince's  confidence,"  returned  Gondremark,  un- 
abashed. "It  is,  therefore,  with  a  single  eye  to 
these  disorders,  that  our  present  external  policy 
has  been  shaped.  Something  was  required  to 
divert  public  attention,  to  employ  the  idle,  to 
popularize  your  highness's  rule,  and,  if  it  were 
possible,  to  enable  him  to  reduce  the  taxes  at 
a  blow  and  to  a  notable  amount.  The  pro- 
posed expedition — for  it  cannot  without  hyperbole 
be  called  a  war — seemed  to  the  council  to  com- 
bine the  various  characters  required  ;  a  marked 
improvement  in  the  public  sentiment  has  fol- 
lowed even  upon  our  preparations  ;  and  I  cannot 
doubt  that  when  success  shall  follow,  the  effect 
will  surpass  even  our  boldest  hopes." 

"You  are  very  adroit,  Herr  von  Gondremark," 
said  Otto.  "You  fill  me  with  admiration.  I  had 
not  heretofore  done  justice  to  your  qualities.'' 

Seraphina  looked  up  with  joy,  supposing  Otto 
conquered;  but  Gondremark  still  waited,  armed 
at  every  point  ;  he  knew  how  very  stubborn  is 
the  revolt  of  a  weak  character. 

"And  the  territorial  army  scheme,    to    which 


PRINCE    OTTO.  133 

I    was     persuaded     to    consent — was    it    secretly 
directed  to  the  same  end  ?  "  the  prince  asked. 

"I  still  believe  the  effect  to  have  been  good," 
replied  the  baron;  "discipline  and  mounting- 
guard  are  excellent  sedatives.  But  I  will  avow 
to  your  highness,  1  was  unaware,  at  the  date  of 
that  decree,  of  the  magnitude  of  the  revolutionary 
movement  ;  uor  did  any  of  us,  I  think,  imagine 
that  such  a  territorial  army  was  a  part  of  the 
republican  proposals. " 

"It  was.?"  asked  Otto.  "Strange!  Upon 
what  fancied  grounds  .''  ' 

'■  The  grounds  were  indeed  fanciful,"  returned 
the  baron.  "  It  was  conceived  amon<r  the  leaders 
that  a  territorial  army,  drawn  from  and  returning 
to  the  people,  would,  in  the  event  of  any  popular 
uprising,  prove  lukewarm  or  unfaithful  to  the 
throne." 

"  I  see,"  said  the  prince.  "I  begin  to  under- 
stand." 

"His  highness  begins  to  understand.-'"  re- 
peated Gondremark  with  the  sweetest  politeness. 
"  May  I  beg  of  him  to  complete  the  phrase  .f"  " 

"The  history  of  the  revolution,"  replied  Otto 
dryly.  "And  now,"  he  added,  "what  do  you 
conclude.''  " 

"I  conclude,  your  highness,  with  a  simple  re- 
flection," said  the  baron,  accepting  the  stab  with- 
out a  quiver.  "The  war  is  popular:  were  the 
rumor   contradicted     to-morrow,    a    considerable 


134  I'RFXCE    OTTO. 

disai)|)()intiTiiMit  would  be  \\-\l  in  many  classes; 
and  in  the  present  tension  of  spirits,  the  most 
lukewarm  sentiment  may  be  enough  to  precipi- 
tate events.  There  lies  the  danger.  The  revolu- 
tion hani'-s  imminent  ;  we  sit  at  this  council 
board,  below  the  sword  of  Damocles." 

"  ^\'e  must  tlien  lay  our  heatls  together/'  said 
the  prince,  "and  devise  some  honorable  means 
of  safety. " 

Up  to  this  moment,  since  the  first  note  of 
opposition  fell  from  the  librarian,  Scraphina  had 
uttered  about  twenty  words.  With  a  somewhat 
heightened  color,  her  eyes  generally  lowered, 
her  foot  sometimes  nervously  tapping  on  the 
floor,  she  had  kept  her  own  counsel  and  com- 
manded her  anger  like  a  hero.  But  at  this  stage 
of  the  enen-Sfement  she  lost  control  of  her  im- 
patience. 

•'  [Means  !  "  she  cried.  ''  They  have  been  found 
and  prepared,  before  you  knew  the  need  for  them. 
Sign  the  dispatch,  and  let  us  be  done  with  this 
delay." 

"Madame,  I  said  'honorable,'"  returned  Otto, 
bowing.  "This  war  is,  in  my  eyes  and  by  Herr 
von  Gondremark's  account,  an  inadmissible  ex- 
pedient. If  we  have  misgoverned  here  in  Griine- 
wald,  are  the  people  of  Gerolstcin  to  bleed  and 
pay  for  our  misdoings  ?  Never,  madame  ;  not 
while  I  live.  But  I  attach  so  much  importance 
to  all  that  I  have  heard  to-day  for  the  first  time  — 


PRL\XE   OTTO.  135 

and  wliy  only  to-day,  I  do  not  even  stop  to  ask 
— that  I  am  eatjer  to  find  some  plan  that  I  can 
follow  with  credit  to  myself. " 

"  And  should  you  fail  ?  "  she  asked. 

"Should  I  fail,  I  will  then  meet  the  blow  half- 
way,"' replied  the  prince.  "On  the  first  open  dis- 
content, I  shall  convoke  the  States,  and  when  it 
pleases  them  to  bid  me,  abdicate." 

Seraphina  laughed  angrily.  "This  is  the  man 
for  whom  we  have  been  laborincr  !  '  she  cried. 
"We  tell  him  of  change;  he  will  devise  the 
means,  he  says  ;  and  his  device  is  abdication  ! 
Sir,  have  you  no  shame  to  come  here  at  the 
eleventh  hour  among  those  who  have  borne  the 
heat  and  burden  of  the  day  ?  Do  you  not  wonder 
at  yourself.'  I,  sir,  was  here  in  my  place,  striv- 
ing to  uphold  your  dignity  alone.  I  took  counsel 
with  the  wisest  I  could  find,  while  you  were  eat- 
ing and  hunting.  I  have  laid  my  plans  with  fore- 
sight ;  they  were  ripe  for  action  ;  and  then — "  she 
choked — "then  you  return — for  a  forenoon — to 
ruin  all  !  To-morrow,  you  will  be  once  more 
about  your  pleasures  ;  you  will  give  us  leave  once 
more  to  think  and  work  for  you  ;  and  again  you 
will  come  back,  and  again  you  will  thwart  what 
you  had  not  the  industry  or  knowledge  to  con- 
ceive. Oh  !  it  is  intolerable.  Be  modest,  sir. 
Do  not  presume  upon  the  rank  you  cannot 
worthily  uphold.  I  would  not  issue  my  com- 
mands with  so  much  gusto— it  is  from  no  merit 


136  PRINCE    Olio. 

in  yourself  they  are  obeyed.  What  are  you  ? 
What  have  you  to  do  in  this  grave  council .''  Go," 
she  cried,  "go  among  your  equals!  The  very 
people  in  the  streets  mock  at  you  for  a  prince." 

At  this  surprising  outburst  the  whole  council 
sat  aghast. 

"  Madame,''  said  the  baron,  alarmed  out  of  his 
caution,   "command  yourself." 

"  Address  yourself  to  me,  sir  ! ''  cried  the  prince. 
"  I  will  not  bear  these  whisperings  !  " 

Seraphina  burst  into  tears. 

"Sir,"  cried  the  baron,  rising,   "  this  lady — " 

"  Herr  von  Gondrcmark,"  said  the  prince,  "  one 
more  observation,  and  I  place  you  under  arrest.'' 

"  Vour  highness  is  the  master,"  replied  Gondre- 
mark,  bowing. 

"Bear  it  in  mind  more  constantly, "  said  Otto. 
"  Herr  Cancellarius,  bring  all  the  papers  to  my 
cabinet.      Gentlemen,  the  council  is  dissolved."' 

And  he  bowed  and  left  the  apartment,  followed 
by  Greisengesang  and  the  secretaries,  just  at  the 
moment  when  the  princess's  ladies,  summoned 
in  all  haste,  entered  by  another  door  to  help  her 
forth. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  137 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    PARTY    OF    WAR    TAKES    ACTION. 

Half  an  hour  after,  Gondremark  was  once 
more  closeted  with  Seraphina. 

"Where  is  he  now  ?  "  she  asked,  on  his  arrival. 

"Madame,  he  is  with  the  chancellor,"  replied 
the  baron.  "Wonder  of  wonders,  he  is  at 
work  !  " 

"Ah,"'  she  said,  "he  was  born  to  torture  me  ! 
Oh,  what  a  fall,  what  a  humiliation  I  Such  a 
scheme  to  wreck  upon  so  small  a  trifle  !  Who 
could  have  dreamed  he  would  become  a  bully  ? 
But  now  all  is  lost." 

' '  Madame, "  said  Gondremark,  ' '  nothing'  is  lost. 
Something  on  the  other  hand  is  found.  You  have 
found  your  senses  ;  you  sec  him  as  he  is — see 
him  as  you  see  everything  where  your  too-good 
heart  is  not  in  question — with  the  judicial,  with 
the  statesman's  eye.  So  long  as  he  had  a  right 
to  interfere,  the  empire  that  may  be  was  still  dis- 
tant. I  have  not  entered  on  this  course  without 
the  plain  foresight  of  its  dangers  ;  and  even  for 
this  I   was  prepared.      But,  madame.  I  knew  two 


138  PR INCH    OTTO. 

things  :  I  knew  that  you  were  born  to  command, 
that  I  was  born  to  serve  ;  I  knew  that  by  a  rare 
conjuncture,  the  liand  had  found  the  tool  ;  and 
from  the  first  I  was  confident,  as  I  am  confident 
to-day,  that  no  liereditary  trifler  has  the  power  to 
shatter  that  alhance. "' 

•'I,  born  to  command  !"  she  said.  "Do  you 
forget  my  tears.?  " 

"Madame,  they  were  the  tears  of  Alexander," 
cried  the  baron.  "They  touched,  they  thrilled 
me  ;  I  forgot  myself  a  moment — even  I  !  But  do 
you  suppose  that  I  had  not  remarked,  that  I  had 
not  admired,  your  previous  bearing. -*  your  great 
self-command.'  Ay,  that  was  princely!"  He 
paused. 

"  It  was  a  thing  to  see.  O  !  I  drank  confidence  ! 
I  tried  to  imitate  your  calm.  And  I  was  well  in- 
spired ;  in  my  heart,  I  think  that  I  was  well 
inspired  ;  that  any  man,  within  the  reach  of  argu- 
ment, had  been  convinced  !  But  it  was  not  to  be  ; 
nor,  madame,  do  I  regret  the  failure.  Let  us  be 
open  ;  let  me  disclose  my  heart.  I  have  loved 
two  things,  not  unworthily  :  Griinewald  and  my 
sovereign  !  "  Here  he  kissed  her  hand.  "Either 
I  must  resign  my  ministry,  leave  the  land  of  my 
adoption  and  the  queen  whom  I  had  chosen  to 
obey — or — "     He  paused  again. 

"Alas,  Herrvon  Gondremark,  there  is  no  'or,'" 
said  Seraphina. 

"Nay,   madame,  give   me   time,"   he    replied. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  139 

"When  first  I  saw  you,  you  were  still  young  :  not 
every  man  would  have  remarked  your  powers  ; 
but  I  had  not  been  twice  honored  by  your  con- 
versation, ere  I  had  found  my  mistress.  I  have, 
madame,  I  believe,  some  genius  ;  and  I  have 
much  ambition.  But  the  genius  is  of  the  serving 
kind  ;  and  to  offer  a  career  to  my  ambition,  I  had 
to  find  one  born  to  rule.  This  is  the  base  and 
essence  of  our  union  ;  each  had  need  of  the  other  ; 
each  recognized  master  and  servant,  lever  and 
fulcrum,  the  complement  of  his  endowment. 
Marriages,  they  say,  are  made  in  heaven  :  how 
much  more  these  pure,  laborious,  intellectual 
fellowships,  born  to  found  empires  !  Nor  is  this 
all.  We  found  each  other  ripe,  filled  with  great 
ideas  that  took  shape  and  clarified  with  every 
word.  We  grew  together — ay,  madame,  in  mind 
we  grew  together  like  twin  children.  All  of  my 
life  until  we  met,  was  petty  and  groping  ;  was  it 
not — I  will  flatter  myself  openly — it  was  the  same 
with  you  !  Not  till  then  had  you  those  eagle 
surveys,  that  wide  and  hopeful  sweep  of  intuition  ! 
Thus  we  had  formed  ourselves,  and  we  were 
ready. " 

"  It  is  true,"  she  cried.  "  I  feel  it.  Yours  is  the 
genius^  your  generosity  confounds  your  insight  ; 
all  I  could  offer  you  was  the  position,  was  this 
throne,  to  be  a  fulcrum.  But  I  offered  it  without 
reserve  ;  I  entered  at  least  warmly — into  all  your 
thoughts  ;  you  were  sure  of  me — sure  of  my  sup- 


I40  I'KI.XCE    OTTO. 

port — certain  of  justice.      Tell  inc,  tell   me  at,Min, 
that  I  have  helped  you." 

"Nay,  madame, "  he  said,  "  you  made  me.  In 
everything-  you  were  my  inspiration.  And  as  we 
prepared  our  jiolicy,  wcig-hing  every  step,  how 
often  have  1  had  to  admire  your  perspicacity, 
your  man-like  dilig-ence  and  fortitude  !  You  know- 
that  these  are  not  the  words  of  flattery  ;  your 
conscience  echoes  them  ;  have  you  spared  a  dav, 
have  you  indulged  yourself  in  any  pleasure  .' 
Youmr  and  beautiful,  you  have  lived  a  life  of  hitrh 
intellectual  effort,  of  irksome  intellectual  ]>atience 
with  details.  Well,  you  have  your  rewartl  ;  with 
the  fall  of  l^randenau,  the  throne  of  your  empire 
is  founded." 

"  What  thought  have  you  in  your  mind.'"  she 
asked.      "  Is  not  all  ruined  ?  " 

"  Nay,  my  princess,  the  same  thought  is  in  both 
our  minds,  "  he  said. 

"  Ilerr  von  Gondremark,"  she  replied,  "by  all 
that  I  hold  sacred,  I  have  none  ;  I  do  not  think  at 
all  ;  I  am  crushed." 

"  You  are  looking-  at  the  passionate  side  of  a 
rich  nature,  misunderstood  and  recently  insulted," 
said  the  baron.  "  Look  into  your  intellect,  and 
tell  me." 

"  I  find  nothing,  nothing  but  tumult."  she  re- 
plied. 

"  You  find  one  word  branded,  madame,"  re- 
turned tlu>  baron.  :  'Abdication.' 


rKL\XE    OTTO.  141 

"  Oh  !  ■'  she  cried.  "  The  coward  !  He  leaves 
me  to  bear  all,  and  in  the  hour  of  trial,  stabs  me 
from  behind.  There  is  nothing  in  him,  not  re- 
spect, not  love,  not  courage — his  wife,  his  dignity, 
his  throne,  the  honor  of  his  father,  he  forgets 
them  all  !     Incarnate  milk  !   how  I  despise  him  I  " 

"  Yes,"'  pursued  the  baron,  "  the  word  Abdica- 
tion.     I  perceive  a  glimmering  there." 

"  I  read  your  fancy,''  she  returned.  "It  is 
mere  madness,  midsummer  madness.  Baron,  I 
am  more  unpopular  than  he.  You  know  it.  They 
can  excuse,  they  can  love,  his  weakness  ;  but  me, 
they  hate." 

"  Such  is  the  gratitude  of  peoples,"  said  the 
baron.  "  But  we  trifle.  Here,  madame,  are  my 
plain  thoughts.  The  man  who  in  the  hour  of 
danger  speaks  of  abdication  is,  for  me,  a  ven- 
omous animal.  I  speak  with  the  bluntness  of 
gravity,  madame  :  this  is  no  hour  for  mincing. 
The  coward,  in  a  station  of  authority,  is  more 
dangerous  than  fire.  We  dwell  on  a  volcano  ;  if 
this  man  can  have  his  way,  Griinewald,  before  a 
week,  will  have  been  deluged  with  innocent  blood. 
You  know  the  truth  of  what  I  say  ;  we  have  looked 
unblenching  into  this  ever-possible  catastrophe. 
To  him  it  is  nothing  :  he  will  abdicate  !  Abdicate, 
just  God  !  and  this  unhappy  country  committed  to 
his  charge,  and  the  lives  of  men  and  the  honor  of 
women — "  His  voice  appeared  to  fail  him  ;  in  an 
instant,  he  had    conquered    his    emotion   and   re- 


142  PRINCE   OTTO. 

sumed  :  "But  you,  madanie,  conceive  more  worth- 
ily of  your  responsibilities.  I  am  with  you  in  the 
thoug-ht  ;  and  in  the  face  of  the  horrors  that  I  see 
impending,  I  say,  and  your  heart  repeats  it — we 
have  g-one  too  far  to  pause.  Honor,  duty,  ay, 
and  the  care  of  our  own  lives,  demand  wc  should 
proceed. " 

She  was  looking  at  him,  her  brow  thoughtfully 
knitted.  "  I  feel  it,"  she  said.  "  But  how  .?  He 
has  the  power.'' 

"  The  power,  madame.'  The  power  is  in  the 
army,"  he  replied  ;  and  then  hastily,  ere  she  could 
intervene,  "  we  have  to  save  ourselves,"  he  went 
on  ;  "I  have  to  save  my  princess,  she  has  to  save 
her  minister  ;  we  have  both  of  us  to  save  this 
infatuated  youth  from  his  own  madness.  He,  in 
the  outbreak,  would  be  the  earliest  victim  ;  I  see 
him,"  he  cried,  "  torn  in  pieces  ;  and  Griinewald, 
unhappy  Griinewald  !  Nay,  madame,  you  who 
have  the  power  must  use  it ;  it  lies  hard  upon  your 
conscience." 

"Show  me  how!"  she  cried.  "Suppose  I 
were  to  place  him  under  some  constraint  ?  the 
revolution  would  break  us  instantly." 

The  baron  feigned  defeat.  "  It  is  true,"  he  said. 
"  You  see  more  clearly  than  I  do.  Yet  there 
should,  there  must  be  some  way. "  And  he 
waited  for  his  chance. 

"No,"  she  said,  "I  told  you  from  the  first 
there  is  no  remedy.      Our  hopes  are  lost  :  lost  by 


TRINXE   OTTO.  I43 

one  miserable  trifler,  ignorant,  fretful,  fitful — who 
will  have  disappeared  to-morrow,  who  knows  ? 
to  his  boorish  pleasures  !  " 

Any  peg  would  do  for  Gondremark.  "The 
thing!"  he  cried,  striking  his  brow.  "Fool, 
not  to  have  thought  of  it  I  Madame,  without 
perhaps  knowing  it,  you  have  solved  our  prob- 
lem. " 

"  What  do  you  mean  .'     Speak  !  "  she  said. 

He  appeared  to  collect  himself  ;  and  then,  with 
a  smile,  "The  prince,'' he  said,  "must  go  once 
more  a-hunting. " 

"Ay,  if  he  would!"  cried  she,  "and  stay 
there  !  " 

"And  stay  there,"  echoed  the  baron.  It  was 
so  significantly  said,  that  her  face  changed  ;  and 
the  schemer,  fearful  of  the  sinister  ambiguity  of 
his  expression,  hastened  to  explain.  "  This  time 
he  shall  go  hunting  in  a  carriage,  with  a  good 
escort  of  our  foreign  lancers.  His  destination 
shall  be  the  Felsenburg  ;  it  is  healthy,  the  rock 
is  high,  the  windows  are  small  and  barred  ;  it 
might  have  been  built  on  purpose.  We  shall  in- 
trust the  captaincy  to  the  Scotchman  Gordon  ;  he 
at  least  will  have  no  scruple.  Who  will  miss  the 
sovereign  ?  He  is  gone  hunting  ;  he  came  home 
on  Tuesday,  on  Thursday  he  returned  ;  all  is 
usual  in  that.  Meanwhile,  the  war  proceeds  ; 
our  prince  will  soon  weary  of  his  solitude  ;  and 
about  the   time   of  our  triumph   or,    if  he  prove 


144  I'KINCK    Ol'JO. 

very  obstinate,  a  little  later,  he  shall  be  released 
upon  a  proper  understanding,  and  1  see  him  once 
more  directing  his  theatricals." 

Seraphina  sat  gloomy,  plunged  in  thought. 
"Yes,"  she  said  suddenly,  "and  the  dispatch? 
He  is  now  writing  it." 

"It  cannot  pass  the  council  before  Friday," 
replied  Gondremark ;  "and  as  for  any  private 
note,  the  messengers  are  all  at  my  disposal. 
Picked  men,  madame.      I  am  a  person  of  precau- 

tn 
ion. 

"It  would  appear  so,"  she  said,  with  a  flash  of 
her  occasional  repugnance  to  the  man  ;  and  then 
after  a  pause,  "  Herrvon  (jondremark,"  she  added, 
"I  recoil  from  this  extremity." 

"I  share  your  highness's  repugnance,"  an- 
swered he.  "but  what  would  you  have.''  We 
are  defenseless,  else. " 

"I  see  it.  But  this  is  sudden.  It  is  a  public 
crime,"  she  said,  nodding  at  him  with  a  sort  of 
horror. 

"Look  but  a  little  deeper,  he  returned,  "and 
whose  is  the  crime  ?  " 

"His!"  she  cried.  "His,  before  God!  And 
I  hold  him  liable.     But  still—" 

"It  is  not  as  if  he  would  be  harmed,"  submitted 
Gondremark. 

"I  know  it,"  she  replied,  but  it  was  still  un- 
heartily. 

And  then,  as  brave  men   are  entitled,  by  pre- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  145 

SJiiptive  rig-ht  as  old  as  the  world's  history,  to  the 
alliance  and  the  active  help  of  Fortune,  the 
punctual  goddess  stepped  from  the  machine.  One 
of  the  princess's  ladies  begged  to  enter ;  a  man, 
it  appeared,  had  brought  a  line  for  the  Freiherr 
von  Gondremark.  It  proved  to  be  a  pencil  billet, 
which  the  crafty  Greisengesang  had  found  the 
means  to  scribble  and  dispatch  under  the  very 
guns  of  Otto  ;  and  the  daring  of  the  act  bore 
testimony  to  the  terror  of  the  action.  For  Greisen- 
gesang had  but  one  influential  motive  :  fear. 
The  note  ran  thus  : 

"At  the  first  council,  procuration  to  be  with- 
drawn.    Corn.     Greis. " 

So,  after  three  years  of  exercise,  the  right  of 
signature  was  to  be  stripped  from  Seraphina. 
It  was  more  than  an  insult  ;  it  was  a  public 
disgrace  ;  and  she  did  not  pause  to  consider  how 
she  had  earned  it,  but  morally  bounded  under  the 
attack  as  bounds  the  wounded  tiger. 

"Enough,"  she  said;  I  will  sign  the  order. 
When  shall  he  leave  .''  " 

"It  will  take  me  twelve  hours  to  collect  my 
men,  and  it  had  best  be  done  at  night.  To- 
morrow midnight,  if  you  please  ?  "  answered  the 
baron. 

"Excellent,"  she  said.  "  My  door  is  always 
open  to  you,  baron.  As  soon  as  the  order  is  pre- 
pared, bring  it  to  me  to  sign." 

"  r^Iadame, "'  he  said,   "alone  of  all  of  us  you  do 
10 


146  PRINCE   OTTO. 

not  risk  your  head  in  this  adventure.  For  that 
reason,  and  to  prevent  all  hesitation,  I  venture 
to  propose  the  order  should  be  in  your  hand 
throughout. " 

"  You  are  right,"  she  replied. 

He  laid  a  form  before  her,  and  she  wrote  the 
order  in  a  clear  hand,  and  reread  it.  Suddenly  a 
cruel  smile  came  on  her  face.  "  I  had  forgotten 
his  puppet,"  said  she.  "They  will  keep  each 
other  company."  And  she  interlined  and  initialed 
the  condemnation  of  Doctor  Gotthold. 

"Your   highness  has  more    memory  than  her 
servant,"    said    the  baron  ;    and  then  he,  in  his 
turn,  carefully  perused  the  fateful  paper.     "  Good,' 
said  he. 

"  You  will  appear  in  the  drawing-room,  baron  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"I  thought  it  better,"  said  he,  "to  avoid  the 
possibility  of  a  public  affront.  Anything  that 
shook  my  credit  might  hamper  us  in  the  imme- 
diate future." 

"You  are  right,"  she  said;  and  she  held  out 
her  hand  as  to  an  old  friend  and  equal. 


PRINCE   OTTU.  147 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE     PRICE     OF     THE     RIVER     FARM  ;      IN    WHICH     VAIN- 
GLORY   GOES    BEFORE    A    FALL. 

The  pistol  had  been  practically  fired.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  the  scene  at  the  council 
table  would  have  entirely  exhausted  Otto's  store 
both  of  energy  and  anger  ;  he  would  have  begun 
to  examine  and  condemn  his  conduct,  have  re- 
membered all  that  was  true,  forgotten  all  that 
was  unjust  in  Seraphina's  onslaught  ;  and  by  half 
an  hour  after,  would  have  fallen  into  that  state  of 
mind  in  which  a  Catholic  flees  to  the  confessional 
and  a  sot  takes  refuge  in  the  bottle.  Two  mat- 
ters of  detail  preserved  his  spirits.  For,  first,  he 
had  still  an  infinity  of  business  to  transact  ;  and 
to  transact  business,  for  a  man  of  Otto's  neglect- 
ful and  procrastinating  habits,  is  the  best  anodyne 
for  conscience.  All  the  afternoon  he  was  hard  at 
it  with  the  chancellor,  reading,  dictating,  signing 
and  dispatching  papers  ;  and  this  kept  him  in  a 
glow  of  self-approval.  But,  secondly,  his  vanity 
was  still  alarmed  ;  he  had  failed  to  get  the  money  ; 
to-morrow  before  noon  he  would  have  to  disap- 
point old  Killian  ;   and  in  the  eyes  of  that  family 


148  PRINCE   OTTO. 

which  counted  him  so  Httle,  and  to  which  he  had 
sought  to  phiy  the  part  of  tlie  heroic  comforter,  he 
must  sink  lower  than  at  first.  To  a  man  of  Otto's 
temper,  this  was  death.  He  could  not  accept 
the  situation.  And  even  as  he  worked,  and  worked 
wisely  and  well,  over  the  hated  details  of  his  prin- 
cipality, he  was  secretly  maturing-  a  jilan  by  which 
to  turn  the  situation.  It  was  a  scheme,  as  pleas- 
ing to  the  man  as  it  was  dishonorable  in  the 
prince  ;  in  which  his  frivolous  nature  found  and 
took  vengeance  for  the  gravity  and  burden  of  the 
afternoon.  He  chuckled  as  he  thought  of  it  ;  and 
Greisengesang  heard  him  with  wonder,  and  at- 
tributed his  lively  spirits  to  the  skirmish  of  the 
morning. 

Led  by  this  idea,  the  antique  courtier  ventured 
to  compliment  his  sovereign  on  his  bearing.  It 
reminded  him,  he  said,  of  Otto's  father. 

"  What .'' "  asked  the  prince,  whose  thoughts 
were  miles  away. 

"Your  highncss's  authority  at  the  board,"  ex- 
plained the  flatterer. 

"Oh,  that!  Oh  yes,"  returned  Otto;  but 
for  all  his  carelessness,  his  vanity  was  delicately 
tickled,  and  his  mind  returned  and  dwelled  ap- 
provingly over  the  details  of  his  victory.  "I 
quelled  them  all,"  he  thought. 

When  the  more  pressing  matters  had  lieen  dis- 
missed, it  was  already  late,  and  Otlo  kept  the 
chancellor   to  dinner,  ;iii(l  was  entertained  witli  a 


PRINXE   OTTO.  149 

leash  of  ancient  histories  and  modern  compli 
ments.  The  chancellor's  career  had  been  based 
from  the  first  off-put,  on  entire  sul)serviency  ;  he 
had  crawled  into  honors  and  employments;  and 
his  mind  was  prostitute.  The  instinct  of  the 
creature  served  him  well  with  Otto.  First,  he  let 
fall  a  sneering-  word  or  two  upon  the  female  intel- 
lect ;  thence  he  proceeded  to  a  closer  engage- 
ment ;  and  before  the  third  course  he  was  artfully 
dissecting  Seraphina's  character  to  her  approving 
husband.  Of  course  no  names  were  used ;  and 
of  course  the  identity  of  that  abstract  or  ideal 
man,  with  whom  she  was  currently  contrasted, 
remained  an  open  secret.  But  this  stiff  old  gen- 
tleman had  a  wonderful  instinct  for  evil,  thus  to 
wind  his  way  into  man's  citadel  ;  thus  to  harp  by 
the  hour  on  the  virtues  of  his  hearer  and  not  once 
alarm  his  self-respect.  Otto  was  all  roseate,  in 
and  out,  with  flattery  and  Tokay  and  an  approv- 
ing conscience.  He  saw  himself  in  the  most 
attractive  colors.  If  even  Greisengesang,  he 
thought,  could  thus  espy  the  loose  stitches  in 
Seraphina's  character,  and  thus  disloyally  impart 
them  to  the  opposite  camp,  he,  the  discarded 
husband — the  dispossessed  prince — could  scarce 
have  erred  on  the  side  of  severity. 

In  this  excellent  frame  he  bade  adieu  to  the  old 
gentleman,  whose  voice  had  proved  so  musical, 
and  set  forth  for  the  drawing-room.  Already  in 
the  stair,  he  was  seized  with  some  compunction  ; 


150  PRINCE   OTTO. 

but  \v!u-n  he  cntcrc(l  the  great  gallery  and  beheld 
his  wife,  the  clianceilor's  abstract  flatteries  fell 
from  him  like  rain,  and  he  reawoke  to  the  poetic 
facts  of  life.  She  stood  a  good  way  off  below  a 
shining  luster,  her  back  turned.  The  bend  of  her 
waist  overcame  him  with  a  physical  weakness. 
This  was  the  girl-wife  who  had  lain  in  his  arms 
and  whom  he  had  sworn  to  cherish  ;  there  was 
she,  who  was  better  than  success. 

It  was  Seraphina  who  restored  him  from  the 
blow.  She  swam  forward  and  smiled  upon  her 
husband  with  a  sweetness  that  was  insultingly 
artificial.  ' '  Frederic, "'  she  lisped,  ' '  you  are  late. " 
It  was  a  scene  of  high  comedy,  such  as  is  proper 
to  unhappy  marriages  ;  and  her  aplomb  dis- 
gusted him. 

There  was  no  etiquette  at  these  small  drawing- 
rooms.  People  came  and  went  at  pleasure.  The 
window  embrasures  became  the  roost  of  happy 
couples ;  at  the  great  chimney,  the  talkers  mostly 
congregated,  each  full-charged  with  scandal ;  and 
down  at  the  further  end  the  gamblers  gambled. 
It  was  toward  this  point  that  Otto  moved,  not 
ostentatiously,  but  with  a  gentle  insistence, 
and  scattering  attentions  as  he  went.  Once 
abreast  of  the  card-table,  he  placed  himself 
opposite  to  Madame  von  Rosen,  and  as  soon  as 
he  had  caught  her  eye,  withdrew  to  the  embrasure 
of  a  window.  There  she  had  speedily  joined 
him. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  151 

"You  did  well  to  call  me,"  she  said,  a  little 
wildly.      "  These  cards  will  be  my  ruin." 

"  Leave  them,"  said  Otto. 

"I!"  she  cried,  and  laughed,  "they  are  my 
destiny.  My  only  chance  was  to  die  of  a  con- 
sumption ;  now  I  must  die  in  a  garret." 

"  You  are  bitter  to-night,"  said  Otto. 

"  I  have  been  losing,"  she  replied.  "  You  do 
not  know  what  greed  is." 

"I    have    come,    then,  in    an    evil  hour, "said 

he. 

"Ah,  you  wish  a  favor  !  "  she  cried,  brightening 
beautifully. 

"  Madame,"  said  he,  "  I  am  about  to  found  my 
party,  and  I  come  to  you  for  a  recruit. " 

"Done,"  said  the  countess.  "I  am  a  man 
again." 

"  I  may  be  wrong,"  continued  Otto,  "but  I 
believe  upon  my  heart  you  wish  me  no  ill." 

"  I  wish  you  so  well,"  she  said,  "  that  I  dare 
not  tell  it  you." 

"  Then  if  I  ask  my  favor.? "  quoth  the  prince. 

"  Ask  it,  mon  prince,"  she  answered  ;  "  what- 
ever it  is,  it  is  granted." 

"  I  wish  you,"  he  returned,  "  this  very  night  to 
make  the  farmer  your  talk." 

"Heaven  knows  your  meaning!"  she  ex- 
claimed. "I  know  not,  neither  care  ;  there  are 
no  bounds  to  my  desire  to  please  you.  Call  him 
made." 


152  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"  I  will  put  it  in  another  wny."'  returned  Otto. 
"  Did  you  ever  steal  ?  " 

"  Often  !  "'  cried  the  countess.  "  I  have  broken 
all  the  ten  commandments  ;  and  if  there  were 
more  to-morrow  1  should  not  sleep  till  I  had 
broken  these." 

"  This  is  a  case  of  burg-lary  :  to  say  truth,  I 
thought  it  would  amuse  you,'"  said  the  prince. 

•'  I  have  no  practical  experience,"  she  replied, 
"  but  O  !  the  g-ood-will  !  I  have  broken  a  work- 
box  in  my  time,  and  several  hearts,  my  own 
included.  Never  a  house !  But  it  cannot  be 
difftcult  ;  sins  are  so  unromantically  easy  !  What 
are  we  to  break  ?  " 

"  Madame,  we  are  to  break  the  treasury,"  said 
Otto  ;  and  he  sketched  to  her  briefly,  wittily,  with 
here  and  there  a  touch  of  pathos,  the  story  of  his 
visit  to  the  farm,  of  his  promise  to  buy  it,  and  of 
the  refusal  with  which  his  demand  for  money  had 
been  met  that  morning  at  the  council  ;  concluding 
with  a  few  practical  words  as  to  the  treasury  win- 
dows, and  the  helps  and  hindrances  of  the  pro- 
posed exploit. 

'•  They  refused  you  the  money,"  she  said,  when 
he  had  done.  "  And  you  accepted  the  refusal  .' 
Well  !  " 

"  They  gave  their  reasons,"  replied  Otto,  color- 
ing. "  They  were  not  such  as  I  could  combat  ; 
and  I  am  driven  to  dilapidate  the  funds  of  my  own 


PRINCE   OTTO.  153 

country  by    a  theft.      It  is  not  dignified  ;  but  it 
is  fun.  ' 

"Fun,''  she  said,  "yes."  And  then  she  re- 
mained silently  plunged  in  thought  for  an  appre- 
ciable time.  "  How  much  do  you  require  ?  "  she 
asked  at  length. 

"  Three  thousand  crowns  will  do,"  he  answered, 
"  for  I  have  still  some  money  of  my  own." 

"  Excellent,"  she  said,  regaining  her  levity. 
"  I  am  your  true  accomplice.  And  where  are  we 
to  meet .' " 

"  You  know  the  Flying  Mercury,"  he  answered, 
"in  the  park.'  Three  pathways  intersect ;  there 
they  have  made  a  seat  and  raised  the  statue.  The 
spot  is  handy,  and  the  deity  congenial." 

"  Child,"  she  said,  and  tapped  him  with  her  fan. 
"  But  do  you  know,  my  prince,  you  are  an 
egoist — your  handy  trysting-place  is  miles  from 
me.  You  must  give  me  ample  time;  I  cannot,  I 
think,  possibly  be  there  before  two.  But  as  the 
bell  l)eats  two,  your  helper  shall  arrive  :  welcome, 
I  trust.  Stay — do  you  bring  any  one  ?  "  she 
added.  "  Oh,  it  is  not  for  a  chaperon — I  am  not 
a  prude  !  " 

"  I  shall  bring  a  groom  of  mine,"  said  Otto. 
"  I  caught  him  stealing  corn. " 

"  His  name."*"  she  asked. 

••  I  profess  I  know  not.  I  am  not  yet  intimate 
wi'th  my  corn- stealer. "  returned  the  prince.  "  It 
was  in  a  professional  capacity — " 


154  PRINCE    OT'in. 

"  T.ike  mc  !  Flatterer  I  "'  she  cried.  "But 
oblige  me  in  one  thing.  Let  me  find  you  wait- 
ing at  the  scat — yes,  you  shall  await  me  ;  for  on 
this  expedition  it  shall  be  no  longer  prince  and 
countess,  it  shall  be  the  lady  and  the  squire — and 
your  friend  the  thief  shall  be  no  nearer  than  the 
fountain.      Do  you  promise  ?  " 

"  Madame,  in  everything  you  are  to  command  ; 
you  shall  be  captain,  I  am  but  supercargo,"  an- 
swered Otto. 

"Well,  Heaven  bring  all  safe  to  port!"'  she 
said.      "  It  is  not  Friday  !  "  ' 

Something  in  her  manner  had  puzzled  Otto,  had 
possibly  touched  him  with  suspicion.  "Is  it  not 
strange, ''he  remarked,  "  that  I  should  choose  my 
accomplice  from  the  other  camp  ?  " 

"  Fool  !  "  she  said.  "  But  it  is  your  only  wis- 
dom that  you  know  your  friends.  "  And  suddenly, 
in  the  vantage  of  the  deep  window,  she  caught 
up  his  hand  and  kissed  it  with  a  sort  of  passion. 
"Now  go,"  she  added,   "go  at  once." 

He  went,  somewhat  staggered,  doubting  in  his 
heart  that  he  was  overbold.  For  in  that  moment 
she  had  flashed  upon  him  like  a  jewel ;  and  even 
through  the  strong  panoply  of  a  jjrevious  love  he 
had  been  conscious  of  a  shock.  Next  moment  he 
had  dismissed  the  fear. 

Both  Otto  and  the  countess  retired  early  from 
the  drawing-room  ;  and  the  prince,  after  an  elabo- 
rate feint,  dismissed  his  valet  and  went   forth  l)y 


PRINCE   OTTO.  155 

the  private  passage  and  the  back  postern  in  quest 
of  the  groom. 

Once  more  the  stable  was  in  darkness,  once 
more  Otto  employed  the  talismanic  knock,  and 
once  more  the  groom  appeared  and  sickened  with 
terror.  "Good-evening,  friend, "said  Otto,  pleas- 
antly. "  I  want  you  to  bring  a  corn  sack — empty 
this  time — and  to  accompany  me.  We  shall  be 
gone  all  night." 

"Your  highness, "  groaned  the  man,  "I  have 
the  charge  of  the  small  stables.    I  am  here  alone." 

"Come, "said  the  prince,  "you  are  no  such 
martinet  in  duty."  And  then  seeing  that  the  man 
was  shaking  from  head  to  foot.  Otto  laid  a  hand 
upon  his  shoulder.  "If  I  meant  you  harm,"  he 
said,   "should  I  be  here .'  " 

The  fellow  became  instantly  reassured.  He 
got  the  sack  ;  and  Otto  led  him  round  by  several 
paths  and  avenues,  conversing  pleasantly  by  the 
way,  and  left  him  at  last  planted  by  a  certain 
fountain  where  a  goggle-eyed  Triton  spouted 
intermittently  into  a  rippling  laver.  Thence  he 
proceeded  alone  to  where,  in  a  round  clearing,  a 
copy  of  Gian  Bologna's  Mercury  stood  tiptoe  in 
the  twilight  of  the  stars.  The  night  was  warm 
and  windless.  A  shaAnngof  new  moon  had  lately 
arisen  ;  but  it  was  still  too  small  and  too  low 
down  in  heaven  to  contend  with  tlie  immense 
host  of  lesser  luminaries  ;  and  the  rouirh  face  of 
the  earth  was  drenched  with  starlight.      Down  one 


156  PRINCE   OTTO. 

of  llie  alleys,  which  widened  as  it  receded,  he 
could  see  a  part  of  the  lamplit  terrace  where  a 
sentry  silently  paceil,  and  beyond  that  a  corner 
of  the  town  with  interlacing  street-lights.  But 
all  around  him  llie  young  trees  stood  mystically 
blurred  in  the  (Hm  shine  ;  and  in  the  stock-still 
quietness  the  ujj-leaping  god  appeared  alive. 

In  the  dimness  and  silence  of  the  night,  Otto's 
conscience  became  suddenly  and  staringly  lumi- 
nous like  the  dial  of  a  city  clock.  He  averted  the 
eyes  of  his  mind,  but  the  finger,  rapidly  traveling, 
pointed  to  a  series  of  misdeeds  that  took  his 
breath  away.  \Miat  was  he  doing  in  that  place  ? 
The  money  had  been  wrongly  squandered,  but 
that  was  largely  by  his  own  neglect.  And  he 
now  proposed  to  embarrass  the  finances  of  this 
country  which  he  had  been  too  idle  to  govern. 
And  he  now  proposed  to  squander  the  money 
once  again,  and  this  time  for  a  private,  if  a 
irenerous  end.  And  the  man  whom  he  had  re- 
proved  for  stealing  corn,  he  was  now  to  set  steal- 
ine  treasure.  And  then  there  was  Madame  von 
Rosen,  upon  whom  he  looked  down  with  some  of 
that  ill-favored  contempt  of  the  chaste  male  for 
the  imperfect  woman.  Because  he  thought  ot 
her  as  one  degraded  below  scruples,  he  had 
l)icked  her  out  to  be  still  more  degraded  and  to 
risk  her  whole  irregular  establishment  in  life,  by 
complicity  in  this  dishonorable  act.  It  was  uglier 
than  a  seduction. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  157 

Otto  had  to  walk  very  briskly  and  whistle  very 
busily  ;  and  when  at  last  he  heard  steps  in  the 
narrowest  and  darkest  of  the  alleys,  it  was  with 
a  gush  of  relief  that  he  sprung  to  meet  the  count- 
ess. The  wrestle  alone  with  one's  good  angel  is 
so  hard  1  and  so  precious,  at  the  proper  time,  is  a 
companion  certain  to  be  less  virtuous  than  one's 
self! 

It  was  a  young  man  who  came  toward  him  ; 
a  young  man  of  small  stature  and  a  peculiar  gait, 
wearing  a  wide,  flapping  hat  and  carrying,  with 
great  weariness,  a  heavy  bag.  Otto  recoiled ; 
but  the  young  man  held  up  his  hand  by  way  of 
signal,  and  coming  up  with  a  panting  run,  as  if 
with  the  last  of  his  endurance,  laid  the  bag  upon 
the  ground,  threw  himself  upon  the  bench  and 
disclosed  the  features  of  Madame  von  Rosen. 

"You,  countess  !  "  cried  the  prince. 

"No,  no,"  she  panted,  "the  Count  von  Rosen 
— my  young  brother.  A  capital  fellow.  Let  him 
get  his  breath." 

"Well,   and  why  has  he  a  bag  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Sit  down  beside  me  here,"  she  said,  patting 
the  further  corner  of  the  bench.  "I  will  tell  you 
in  a  moment.  Oh,  I  am  so  tired — feel  how  my 
heart  leaps  !     Where  is  your  thief?  " 

' '  At  his  post, "  replied  Otto.  ' '  Shall  I  introduce 
him  ?     He  seems  an  excellent  companion." 

"No,"  she  said,  "do  not  hurry  me  yet.  I 
must  speak  to  you.     Not  but  I  adore  your  thief  ; 


158  PRINCE   OTTU. 

I  adore  any  one  who  has  the  spirit  to  do  wrong-. 
I  never  cared  for  virtue  till  I  fell  in  love  with  my 
prince."  She  laughed  musically.  "Andevenso, 
it  is  not  for  your  virtues,"  she  added  with  a  nod. 

Otto  was  embarrassed.  "But  you  have  not 
yet  told  me.     What  is  in  the  bag?  "  he  asked. 

"Presently,  presently.  Let  me  breathe,"  she 
said,  panting  a  little  harder  than  before. 

"Well,"  he  returned,  "I  shall  see  for  myself." 
And  he  put  down  his  hand. 

She  stopped  him  at  once.  "  Otto,"  she  said, 
"no — not  that  way.  I  will  tell,  I  will  make  a 
clean  breast.  It  is  done  already.  I  have  robbed 
the  treasury  single-handed.  There  are  three 
thousand,  two  hundred  crowns.  O,  I  trust  it  is 
enough  !  " 

Her  embarrassment  was  so  obvious  that  the 
prince  was  struck  into  a  muse,  gazing  in  her  face, 
with  his  hand  still  outstretched,  and  she  still  hold- 
ing him  by  the  wrist.  "You  !  "  he  said,  at  last. 
"How.?"  And  then  drawing  himself  up,  "O 
madame,"  he  cried,  "I  understand.  You  must 
indeed  think  meanly  of  the  prince." 

"Well  then,  it  was  a  lie  !"  she  cried.  "The 
money  is  mine,  honestly  my  own — not  yours. 
This  was  an  unworthy  act  that  you  proposed. 
But  I  love  your  honor,  and  I  swore  to  myself  that 
1  should  save  it  in  your  teeth.  I  beg  of  you  to 
let  me  save  it " — with  a  sudden,  lovely  change  of 
tone.      "Otto,    I    beseech    you    let    me    save    it. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  159 

Take  this  dross  from  your  poor  friend  who  loves 
you  ! 

"Madame,    madame,"  babbled    Otto,    in    the 
extreme  of  misery,  "  I  cannot — I  must  go." 

And  he  half  rose  ;  but  she  was  on  the  ground 
before  him  in  an  instant,  clasping  his  knees. 
"  No,"  she  gasped,  "you  shall  not  go.  Do  you 
despise  me  so  entirely  ?  It  is  dross  ;  I  hate  it  ; 
I  should  squander  it  at  play  and  be  no  richer ;  it 
is  an  investment ;  it  is  to  save  me  from  ruin. 
"Otto,"  she  cried,  as  he  again  feebly  tried  to  put 
her  from  him,  "  if  you  leave  me  alone  in  this  dis- 
grace, I  will  die  here!"  He  groaned  aloud. 
"  O, "  she  said,  ' '  think  what  I  suffer  !  If  you  suffer 
from  a  piece  of  delicacy,  think  what  I  suffer  in  my 
shame  !  To  have  my  trash  refused  !  You  would 
rather  steal,  you  think  of  me  so  basely  !  You 
would  rather  tread  my  heart  in  pieces  !  O,  un- 
kind !  O  my  prince  !  O  Otto  !  O  pity  me  !  " 
She  was  still  clasping  him  ;  then  she  found  his 
hand  and  covered  it  with  kisses,  and  at  this  his 
head  began  to  turn.  "O, "she  cried  again,  "1 
see  it  !  O  what  a  horror  !  It  is  because  I  am  old, 
because  I  am  no  longer  beautiful. "  And  she  burst 
into  a  storm  of  sobs. 

This  was  the  coup  de  grace.  Otto  had  now  to 
comfort  and  compose  her  as  he  could,  and  before 
many  words,  the  money  was  accepted.  Between 
the  woman  and  the  weak  man,  such  was  the 
inevitable  end.       Madame  von     Rosen    instantly 


l6o  l'KIN(  I-:    <  )I- TO, 

composed  her  sobs.  She  thanked  him  with  a 
fluttering  voice,  and  resumed  her  pkice  upon  the 
bench  at  the  far  end  from  Otto.  "  Xow  you  see," 
she  said,  "why  I  bid  you  keep  the  thief  at 
distance,  and  why  L  came  alone.  How  I  trem- 
bled for  my  treasure  !  But  I  was  armed,  I  had 
my  pistols.  You  sec  I  could  have  kept  my 
threat. " 

"  Madame, "  said  Otto,  with  a  tearful  whimper 
in  his  voice,  ' '  spare  me  !  You  are  too  good,  too 
noble  !  " 

"  I  wonder  to  hear  you,"  she  returned.  "You 
have  avoided  a  great  folly.  You  will  l)e  alilc  to 
meet  your  good  old  peasant.  You  have  found  an 
excellent  investment  for  a  friend's  money.  You 
have  preferred  essential  kindness  to  an  empty 
scruple  ;  and  now  j'ou  are  ashamed  of  it !  You 
have  made  your  friend  happy ;  and  now  you 
mourn  as  the  dove  !  Come,  cheer  uj).  I  know  it 
is  depressing  to  have  done  exactly  right ;  but  you 
need  not  make  a  practice  of  it.  Forgive  yourself 
this  virtue  ;  come  now,  look  me  in  the  face  and 
smile  !  " 

He  did  not  look  at  her.  When  a  man  has  been 
embraced  by  a  woman,  he  sees  her  in  a  glamour  ; 
and  at  such  a  time,  in  the  baffling  glimmer  of  the 
stars,  she  will  look  wildly  well.  The  hair  is 
touched  with  light  ;  the  eyes  are  constellations  ; 
the  face  sketched  in  shadows — a  sketch,  you  might 
say,  by   passion.      Olto   Ixn-anu'   rousoKMl    lor  his 


PRIN'CE    OTTO.  l6l 

defeat  ;  he  began  to  take  an  interest.      "No,"  he 
said,   "  I   am  no  ingrate. " 

"You  promised  me  fun,"  she  returned,  with  a 
laugh.  "I  have  given  you  as  good.  We  have 
had  a  stormy  scene." 

He  laughed  in  his  turn,  and  the  sound  of  the 
laughter,  in  either  case,  was  hardly  reassuring. 

"Come,  what  are  you  going  to  give  me  in  ex- 
change," she  continued,  "for  my  excellent  decla- 
mation 1  ' 

"  What  you  will,"  he  said. 

"  Whatever  I  will .?  Upon  your  honor.?  Sup- 
pose I  asked  the  crown  .?  "  She  was  flashing  upon 
him,  beautiful  in   triumph. 

"  Upon  my  honor,"  he  replied. 

"Shall  I  ask  the  crown.'"  she  continued. 
"  Nay  ;  what  should  I  do  with  it .'  Griinewald  is 
but  a  petty  state  ;  my  ambition  swells  above  it. 
I  shall  ask — I  find  I  want  nothing,"  she  concluded. 
"  I  will  give  you  something  instead.  I  will  give 
you  leave  to  kiss  me — once." 

Otto  drew  near,  and  she  put  up  her  face  ;  they 
were  both  smiling,  both  on  the  brink  of  laughter, 
all  was  so  innocent  and  playful  ;  and  the  prince, 
when  their  lips  encountered,  was  dumfounded  by 
the  sudden  con^•ulsion  of  his  being.  Both  drew 
instantly  apart,  and  for  an  appreciable  time  sat 
tongue-tied.  Otto  was  indistinctly  conscious  of 
a  peril  in  the  silence,  but  could  find  no  words  to 
utter.  Suddenly  the  countess  seemed  to  awake. 
11 


l62  I'RINCE   OTTO. 

"  As  for  your  wife^"  she  began   in  a   clear  and 
steady  voice.    ■ 

The  word  recalled  Otto,  with  a  shudder,  from 
his  trance.  "  I  will  hear  nothing  against  my 
wife,"  he  cried  wildly  ;  and  then,  recovering  him- 
self and  in  a  kintUicr  tone,  "  I  will  tell  you  my 
one  secret,"  he  added.      "  I  love  my  wife." 

"  You  should  have  let  me  finish,"  she  returned, 
smiling.  "  Do  you  suppose  I  did  not  mention 
her  on  purpose  ?  You  know  you  had  lost  your 
head.  Well,  so  had  I.  Come  now,  do  not  be 
abashed  by  words, "  she  added,  somewhat  sharply. 
"  It  is  the  one  thing  I  despise.  If  you  are  not  a 
fool,  you  will  see  that  I  am  building  fortresses 
about  your  virtue.  .\nd  at  any  rate,  I  choose 
that  you  shall  understand  that  I  am  not  dying  of 
love  for  you.  It  is  a  very  smiling  business  ;  no 
tragedy  for  me  !  And  now  here  is  what  I  have  to 
say  about  your  wife.  She  is  not  and  she  never 
has  been  Gondremark's  mistress.  Be  sure  he 
would  have  boasted  if  she  had.      Good-night  !  " 

And  in  a  moment  she  was  gone  down  the  alley, 
and  Otto  was  alone  with  the  bag  of  money  and 
the  flying  god. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  163 


CHAPTER  X. 
gotthold's  revised  opinion  ;  and  the  fall  completed. 

The  cOuntess  left  poor  Otto  with  a  caress  and 
buffet  simultaneously  administered.  The  wel- 
come word  about  his  wife  and  the  virtuous  ending 
of  his  interview,  should  doubtless  have  delighted 
him.  But  for  all  that,  as  he  shouldered  the  bae 
of  money  and  set  forward  to  rejoin  his  groom,  he 
was  conscious  of  many  aching  sensibilities.  To 
have  gone  wrong  and  to  have  been  set  right, 
makes  but  a  double  trial  for  man's  vanity.  The 
discovery  of  his  own  weakness  and  possible 
unfaith  had  staggered  him  to  the  heart  ;  and  to 
hear  in  the  same  hour  of  his  wife's  fidelity,  from 
one  who  loved  her  not,  increased  the  bitterness  of 
the  surprise. 

He  was  about  half-way  between  the  fountain 
and  the  Flying  Mercury,  before  his  thoughts  began 
to  be  clear  ;  and  he  was  surprised  to  find  them 
angry.  He  paused  in  a  kind  of  temper,  and  struck 
with  his  hand  a  little  shrub.  Thence  there  arose 
instantly  a  cloud  of  awakened  sparrows,  which  as 
instantly  dispersed  and  disappeared  into  the 
thicket.      He  looked  at  them  stupidly,  and  when 


164  I'Rl.XCE    UTTU. 

they  were  gone  continued  staring  at  the  stars. 
*'  I  am  angry.  By  what  right?  By  none  !  "  he 
thought ;  but  he  was  still  angry.  He  cursed 
]\Iadame  von  Rosen  and  instantly  repented. 
Heavy  was  the  money  on  his  shoulders. 

When  he  reached  the  fountain,  he  did,  out  of  ill- 
humor  and  parade,  an  unpardonable  act.  He 
gave  the  money  bodily  to  the  dishonest  groom. 
"  Keep  this  for  me,"  he  said,  "  until  I  call  for  it 
to-morrow.  It  is  a  great  sum,  and  by  that  you 
will  judge  that  I  have  not  condemned  you."  And 
he  strode  away  ruffling,  as  if  he  had  done  some- 
thing generous.  It  was  a  desperate  stroke  to 
re-enter  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  into  his  self- 
esteem  ;  and,  like  all  such,  it  was  fruitless  in  the 
end.  He  got  to  bed  with  the  devil,  it  appeared  ; 
kicked  and  tumbled  till  the  gray  of  the  morning  ; 
and  then  fell  inopportunely  into  a  leaden  slumber, 
and  awoke  to  thid  it  ten.  To  miss  the  appoint- 
ment with  old  Killian  after  all,  had  been  too  tragic 
a  miscarriage  ;  and  he  hurried  with  all  his  might, 
found  the  groom  (for  a  wonder)  faithful  to  his 
trust,  and  arrived  only  a  few  minutes  before  noon 
in  the  guest  chamber  of  the  Morning  Star.  Killian 
was  there  in  his  Sunday's  best  and  looking  very 
gaunt  and  rigid  ;  a  lawyer  from  Brandenau  stood 
sentinel  over  his  outs])read  papers  ;  and  the  groom 
and  the  landlord  of  the  inn  were  called  to  serve  as 
witnesses.  The  obvious  deference  of  that  great 
man,    the    inn-kcci)er,    plainly    affected    the    old 


PRINCE   OTTO.  165 

farmer  with  surprise  ;  but  it  was  uot  until  Otto 
had  taken  the  pen  and  signed  that  the  truth 
flashed  upon  him  fully.  Then,  indeed,  he  was 
beside  himself. 

"  His  highness  !  "  he  cried,  "  his  highness  !  " 
and  repeated  the  exclamation  till  his  mind  had 
grappled  fairly  with  the  facts.  Then  he  turned  to 
the  witnesses.  "Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "you 
dwell  in  a  country  highly  favored  by  God  ;  for  of 
all  generous  gentlemen,  I  will  say  it  on  my  con- 
science, this  one  is  the  king.  I  am  an  old  man, 
and  I  have  seen  good  and  bad,  and  the  year  of 
the  great  famine  ;  but  a  more  excellent  gentleman, 
no,  never." 

"We  know  that,"  cried  the  landlord,  "we 
know  that  well  in  Griinew^ald.  If  we  saw'  more 
of  his  highness  we  should  be  the  better 
pleased." 

"  It  is  the  kindest  prince,"  began  the  groom, 
and  suddenly  closed  his  mouth  upon  a  sob,  so 
that  every  one  turned  to  gaze  upon  his  emotion. 
Otto  not  last ;  Otto  struck  with  remorse,  to  see 
the  man  so  grateful. 

Then  it  was  the  lawyer's  turn  to  pay  a  com- 
pliment. "  I  do  not  know  what  Providence  may 
hold  in  store,"  he  said,  "but  this  day  should  be 
a  bright  one  in  the  annals  of  your  reign.  The 
shouts  of  armies  could  not  be  more  eloquent  than 
the  emotion  on  these  honest  faces."  And  the 
Brandenau  lawyer  bowed,  skipped,  stepped  back 


i66  I'Kixci".  orio. 

and  took  snuff,  with  tlic   air   of  a   man    wlio   has 

found  and  seized  an  opportunity. 

"Well,    young    gentleman,"    said  Killian,    "if 

you  will  pardon  mc  the  plainness  of  calling  you 

a  gentleman,  many  a  good  day's  work  you  have 

done,  I  doubt  not,  but  never  a  better  or  one  that 

will  be  better    blessed  ;  and  whatever,    sir,   may 

be    your    happiness     and    triumph    in    that    high 

sphere  to  wliich  you  have  been  called,  it  will  be 

none    the    worse,    sir,    for    an   old    man's    bless- 
ing !  " 

The  scene  had  almost  assumed  the  proportions 
of  an  ovation  ;  and  when  the  prince  escaped  he 
had  but  one  thought  ;  to  go  wherever  he  was 
most  sure  of  praise.  His  conduct  at  the  board  of 
council  occurred  to  him  as  a  fair  chapter  ;  and 
this  evoked  the  m.emory  of  Gotthold.  To  Gott- 
hold  he  would  go. 

Gotthold  was  in  tlie  library  as  usual,  and  laid 
down  his  pen,  a  little  angrily,  on  Otto's  entrance. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "here  you  are." 

"Well,"  returned  Otto,  "we  made  a  revolu- 
tion, I 'believe." 

"  It  is  what  I  fear,"  returned  the  doctor. 

"How.?"  said  Otto.  "Fear.?  Fear  is  the 
burned  child.  1  have  learned  my  strength  and 
the  weakness  of  the  others  ;  and  I  now  mean  to 
govern." 

Gotthold  said  nothing,  but  he  looked  down  and 
smoothed  his  chin. 


PRI\"CE    OTTO.  167 

"You  disapprove  ?  "  cried  Otto.  "You  are  a 
weathercock. '' 

"On  the  contrar}^"  replied  the  doctor.  "  My 
observation  has  confirmed  my  fears.  It  will  not 
do,  Otto,  not  do." 

"  What  will  not  do  ?  "  demanded  the  prince, 
with  a  sickening  stab  of  pain. 

"None  of  it,"  answered  Gotthold.  "You  are 
unfitted  for  a  life  of  action  ;  you  lack  the  stamina, 
the  habit,  the  restraint,  the  patience.  Your  wife 
is  greatly  better,  vastly  better  ;  and  though  she 
is  in  bad  hands,  displays  a  very  different  aptitude. 
She  is  a  woman  of  affairs  ;  you  are — dear  boy,  you 
are  yourself.  I  bid  you  back  to  your  amusements  ; 
like  a  smiling  dominie,  I  give  you  holidays  for 
life.  Yes,"  he  continued,  "there  is  a  day  ap- 
pointed for  all  when  they  shall  turn  again  upon 
their  own  philosophy.  I  had  grown  to  disbelieve 
impartially  in  all  ;  and  if  in  the  atlas  of  the 
sciences  there  were  two  charts  I  disbelieved  in 
more  than  all  the  rest,  they  were  politics  and 
morals.  I  had  a  sneaking  kindness  for  your 
vices  ;  as  they  were  negative,  they  flattered  my 
philosophy  ;  and  I  called  them  almost  virtues. 
Well,  Otto,  I  was  wrong  ;  I  have  forsworn  my 
skeptical  philosophy  ;  and  I  perceive  your  faults 
to  be  unpardonable.  You  are  unfit  to  be  a  prince, 
unfit  to  be  a  husband.  And  I  give  you  my  word, 
I  would  rather  see  a  man  capably  doing  evil, 
than  blundering  about  good." 


1 68  PRINCE   OTTO. 

Otto  was  still  silent,  in  extreme  dudgeon. 

Presently  the  doctor  resinned  :  "1  will  take  the 
smaUer  matter  first  ;  your  conduct  to  your  wife. 
You  went,  I  hear,  and  had  an  explanation.  That 
may  have  been  right  or  wrong  ;  I  know  not  :  at 
least,  you  had  stirred  her  temper.  At  the  council, 
she  insults  you  ;  well,  you  insult  her  back,  a  man 
to  a  woman,  a  husband  to  his  wife,  in  public  !  Next 
upon  the  back  of  this,  you  propose — the  story 
runs  like  wildfire — to  recall  the  power  of  signature. 
Can  she  ever  forgive  that  .''  a  woman  .''  A  young 
woman  .''  ambitious,  conscious  of  talents  beyond 
yours  ?  Never,  Otto.  And  to  sum  all,  at  such  a 
crisis  in  your  married  life,  you  get  into  a  window 
corner  with  that  ogling  dame,  Von  Rosen.  I  do 
not  dream  that  there  was  any  harm  ;  but  I  do 
say  it  was  an  idle  disrespect  to  your  wife.  Why, 
man,  the  woman  is  not  decent."' 

*'Gotthold,"  said  Otto,  "  I  will  hear  no  evil  of 
the  countess."' 

"You  will  ccrtahily  hear  no  good  of  her," 
returned  Gotthold  ;  "  and  if  you  wish  your  wife 
to  be  the  pink  of  nicety,  you  should  clear  your 
court  of  demi-reputations. "" 

"The  commonplace  injustice  of  a  by-word," 
Otto  cried.  "  The  partiality  of  sex.  She  is  a 
demirep  ;  what  then  is  Gondremark  ?  Were 
she   a    man — " 

"It  would  be  all  one,"  retorted  Gotthold 
roughly.      "When  T  sec  a  man,  come  to  years  of 


PRINCE   OTTO.  169 

wisdom,  who  speaks  in  double-meanings  and  is 
the  brag-g-art  of  his  vices,  I  spit  on  the  other  side. 
'  You,  my  friend,'  say  I,  'are  not  even  a  gentle- 
man.'    Well,  she's  not  even  a  lady." 

"She  is  the  best  friend  I  have,  and  I  choose 
that  she  shall  be  respected,"'  Otto  said. 

"If  she  is  your  friend,  so  much  the  worse," 
replied  the  doctor.      '•  It  will  not  stop  there." 

"Ah!"  cried  Otto,  "there  is  the  charity  of 
virtue  !  All  evil  in  the  spotted  fruit.  But  I  can 
tell  you,  sir,  that  you  do  Madame  von  Rosen 
prodigal  injustice. " 

"  You  can  tell  me  !  "  said  the  doctor  shrewdly. 
"  Have  you  tried  .''  have  you  been  riding  the 
marches  ?  " 

The  blood  came  into  Otto's  face. 

"Ah  !  "  cried  Gotthold,  "  look  at  your  wife  and 
blush  !  There's  a  wife  for  a  man  to  marry  and 
then  lose  !  She's  a  carnation,  Otto.  The  soul  is 
in  her  eyes." 

"  You  have  changed  your  note  for  Seraphina,  I 
perceive,"  said  Otto. 

"Changed  it  !  "  cried  the  doctor,  with  a  flush. 
"Why,  when  was  it  different.?  But  I  own  I 
admired  her  at  the  council.  When  she  sat  there 
silent,  tapping  with  her  foot,  I  admired  as  I  might 
a  hurricane.  Were  I  one  of  those  who  venture 
upon  matrimony,  there  had  been  the  prize  to 
tempt  me  !  She  invited,  as  Mexico  invited  Cortez  ; 
the  enterprise  is  hard,  the  natives  are  unfriendly 


170  PRINCE    OTTO. 

— I  believe  them  cruel,  too — but  the  metropolis 
is  paved  with  gold  and  the  breeze  blows  out  of 
paradise.  Yes,  I  could  desire  to  be  that  con- 
queror. But  to  philander  with  Von  Rosen  ;  never  ! 
Senses .?  I  discard  them  ;  what  are  they  ?  pruri- 
tus !     Curiosity  ?     Reach  me  my  anatomy  !  '' 

"To  whom  do  you  address  yourself?"'  cried 
Otto.  "Surely,  you  of  all  men  know  that  I  love 
my  wife  !  " 

"  Oh,  love  !  "  cried  Gotthold  ;  "love  is  a  great 
word  ;  it  is  in  all  the  dictionaries.  If  you  had 
loved,  she  would  have  paid  you  back.  What 
does  she  ask  ?     A  little  ardor  !  " 

"It  is  hard  to  love  for  two,"  replied  the  prince. 

"  Hard  ?  Why,  there's  the  touchstone  !  Oh,  I 
know  my  poets!"  cried  the  doctor.  "We  are 
but  dust  and  fire,  too  arid  to  endure  life's  scorch- 
ing ;  and  love,  like  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock, 
should  lend  shelter  and  refreshment,  not  to  the 
lover  only,  but  to  his  mistress  and  to  the  children 
that  reward  them  ;  and  their  very  friends  should 
seek  repose  in  the  fringes  of  that  peace.  Love  is 
not  love  that  cannot  build  a  home.  And  you  call 
it  love  to  grudge  and  quarrel  and  pick  faults  ?  You 
call  it  love  to  thwart  her  to  her  face,  and  bandy 
insults.?     Love  !  " 

"Gotthold,  you  are  unjust.  I  was  then  fight- 
ing for  my  country,"  said  the  prince. 

"Ay,  and  there's  the  worst  of  all,"  returned  the 
doctor.      "You  could  not  even  see  that  you  were 


PRINCE   OTTO.  171 

wrong  ;  that  bcint,^  where  they  were,  retreat  was 
ruin. " 

"Why,  you  supported  me  !  "  cried  Otto. 

"I  did.  I  was  a  fool  Hke  you,"'  rephed  Gott- 
hold.  "  But  now  my  eyes  are  open.  If  you  go 
on  as  you  have  started,  disgrace  this  fellow  Gon- 
dremark,  and  publish  the  scandal  of  your  divided 
house,  there  will  befall  a  most  abominable  thing 
in  Griinewald.  A  revolution,  friend — a  revolu- 
tion." 

"  You  speak  strangely  for  a  red,"  said  Otto. 

"A  red  republican,  but  not  a  revolutionary," 
returned  the  doctor.  "An  ugly  thing  is  a  Griine- 
walder  drunk !  One  man  alone  can  save  the 
country  from  this  pass,  and  that  is  the  double- 
dealer  Gondremark,  with  whom  I  conjure  you  to 
make  peace.  It  will  not  be  you  ;  it  never  can  be 
you  :  you,  who  can  do  nothing,  as  your  wife  said, 
but  trade  upon  your  station — you,  who  spent  the 
hours  in  begging  money  !  And  in  God's  name, 
what  for  ?  Why  money  ?  What  mystery  of  idiocy 
was  this  ? " 

"It  was  to  no  ill  end.  It  was  to  buy  a  farm," 
quoth  Otto,  sulkily. 

"To  buy  a  farm  !"  cried  Gotthold.  "Buy  a 
farm  !  " 

"Well,  what  then.?"  returned  Otto.  "  I  have 
bought  it,  if  you  come  to  that." 

Gotthold  fairly  bounded  on  his  seat.  "And 
how  that  ?  "  he  cried. 


172  I'RIN'CK    OTTO. 

"  How  ?  "  repeated  Otto,  startled. 

"Ay,  verily,  how!"  returned  the  doctor. 
"  How  came  you  by  the  money  ?  " 

The  prince's  countenance  darkened.  "That 
is  my  affair,"  said  he. 

"You  see  you  are  ashamed,"  retorted  Gotthold. 
"  And  so  you  bought  a  farm  in  the  hour  of  your 
country's  need — doubtless  to  be  ready  for  the 
abdication  ;  and  I  put  it  that  you  stole  the  funds. 
There  arc  not  tliree  ways  of  getting  money  ;  there 
are  but  two  :  to  earn  and  steal.  And  now,  when 
you  have  combined  Charles  the  Fifth  and  Long- 
fingered  Tom,  you  come  to  me  to  fortify  your 
vanity!  Rut  I  will  clear  my  mind  upon  this 
matter  :  until  I  know  the  right  and  wrong  of  the 
transaction,  I  put  my  hand  behind  my  back.  A 
man  may  be  the  pitifullest  prince,  he  must  be  a 
spotless  gentleman." 

The  prince  had  gotten  to  his  feet,  as  pale  as 
paper.  "Gotthold,"  he  said,  "you  drive  me 
beyond  bounds.     Beware,  sir,  beware  !  " 

"Do  you  threaten  me,  friend  Otto.?"  asked  the 
doctor  grimly.  "That  would  be  a  strange  con- 
clusion." 

"When  have  you  ever  known  me  use  my  power 
in  any  private  animosity  ?  "  cried  Otto.  "To  any 
private  man,  your  words  were  an  unpardonable 
insult,  but  at  me  you  shoot  in  full  security,  and  I 
must  turn  aside  to  compliment  you  on  your  plain- 
ness.      I    must    do    more    than    ]")ardon,    T    must 


PRINCE   OTTO.  173 

admire,  because  you  have  faced  this — this  formid- 
able monarch,  like  a  Nathan  before  David.  You 
have  uprooted  an  old  kindness,  sir,  with  an  un- 
sparing hand.  You  leave  me  very  bare.  jNIy  last 
bond  is  broken  ;  and  though  I  take  Heaven  to 
witness  that  I  sought  to  do  the  right,  I  have  this 
reward  :  to  find  myself  alone.  You  say  I  am  no 
gentleman  ;  yet  the  sneers  have  been  upon  your 
side ;  and  though  I  can  very  well  perceive  where 
you  have  lodged  your  sympathies,  1  will  forbear 
the  taunt. " 

"Otto,  are  you  insane.'"  cried  Gotthold,  leap- 
ing up.  ' '  Because  I  ask  you  how  you  came  by 
certain  moneys,  and  because  you  refuse — '"' 

"  Herr  von  Hohenstockwitz,  I  have  ceased  to 
invite  your  aid  in  my  affairs,"'  said  Otto.  "I 
have  heard  all  that  I  desire,  and  you  have  suffi- 
ciently trampled  on  my  vanity.  It  may  be  that 
I  cannot  govern,  it  may  be  that  I  cannot  love — 
you  tell  me  so  with  every  mark  of  honesty  ;  but 
God  has  granted  me  one  virtue,  and  I  can  still 
forgive.  I  forgive  you  ;  even  in  this  hour  of  pas- 
sion, I  can  perceive  my  faults  and  your  excuses  ; 
and  if  I  desire  that  in  future  I  may  be  spared  your 
conversation,  it  is  not,  sir,  from  resentment — not 
resentment — but  by  Heaven,  because  no  man  on 
earth  could  endure  to  be  so  rated.  You  have  the 
satisfaction  to  see  your  sovereign  weep  ;  and  that 
person  whom  you  have  so  often  taunted  with  his 
happiness,  reduced  tii  the  last  pitch    of  solitude 


1/4  PRINCE   OTTO. 

and  misery.  No — I  will  hear  nothing  ;  I  claim 
the  last  word,  sir,  as  your  prince  ;  and  that  last 
word  shall  be — forgiveness." 

And  with  that  Otto  was  gone  from  the  apart- 
ment, and  Doctor  Gotthold  was  left  alone  with 
the  most  conflicting  sentiments  of  sorrow  and 
remorse  and  merriment  :  walking  to  and  fro  be- 
fore his  table,  and  asking  himself,  with  hands 
uplifted,  which  of  the  pair  of  them  was  most  to 
blame  for  this  unhappy  rupture.  Presently,  he 
took  from  a  cupboard  a  bottle  of  Rhine  wine  and 
a  goblet  of  the  deep  Bohemian  ruby.  The  first 
glass  a  little  warmed  and  comforted  his  bosom  ; 
with  the  second,  he  began  to  look  down  upon 
these  troubles  from  a  sunny  mountain  ;  yet  awhile, 
and  filled  with  this  false  comfort  and  contemplat- 
ing life  throughout  a  golden  medium,  he  owned  to 
himself,  with  a  flush,  a  smile  and  a  half-pleasur- 
able sigh,  that  he  had  been  somewhat  overplain 
in  dealing  with  his  cousin.  "  He  said  the  truth, 
too,"' added  the  penitent  librarian,  "for  in  my 
monkish  fashion,  I  adore  the  princess."  And  then 
with  a  still  deepening  flush  and  a  certain  stealth, 
although  he  sat  all  alone  in  that  great  gallery,  he 
toasted  Seraphina  to  the  dregs. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  175 


CHAPTER  XL 

PROVIDEN'CE    VON     ROSEN. ACT     THE     FIRST. SHE     BE- 
GUILES   THE    BARON. 

At  a  sufficiently  late  hour  or,  to  be  more  exact, 
at  three  in  the  afternoon,  INIadame  von  Rosen 
issued  on  the  world.  She  swept  downstairs  and 
out  across  the  garden,  a  black  mantilla  thrown 
over  her  head,  and  the  long-  train  of  her  black 
velvet  dress  ruthlessly  sweeping  in  the  dirt. 

At  the  other  end  of  that  long  garden,  and  back 
to  back  with  the  villa  of  the  countess,  stood  the 
large  mansion  where  the  prime  minister  transacted 
his  affairs  and  pleasures.  This  distance,  which 
was  enough  for  decency  by  the  easy  canons  of 
Mittwalden,  the  countess  swiftly  traversed,  opened 
a  little  door  with  a  key,  mounted  a  flight  of  stairs, 
and  entered  unceremoniously  into  Goridremark's 
study.  It  was  a  large  and  very  high  apartment  ; 
books  all  about  the  walls,  papers  on  the  table, 
papers  on  the  floor ;  here  and  there  a  picture, 
somewhat  scant  of  drapery  ;  a  great  fire  glowing 
and  flaming  in  the  blue  tiled  hearth  ;  and  the  day- 
light streaming  through  a  cupola  above.  In  the 
midst  of  this  sat  the  great  Baron  Gondremark  in 


176  PRINCE  OTTO. 

his  shirt-sleeves,  his  business  for  that  day  fairly  at 
an  end,  and  the  hour  arrived  for  relaxation.  His 
expression,  his  very  nature  seemed  to  have  under- 
gone a  fundamental  change.  Gondremark  at 
home  appeared  the  very  antipode  of  Gondremark 
on  duty.  He  had  an  air  of  massive  jollity  that 
well  became  him  ;  grossness  and  geniality  sat 
upon  his  features  ;  and  along  with  his  manners, 
he  had  laid  aside  his  sly  and  sinister  expression. 
He  lolled  there,  sunning  his  bulk  before  the  fire,  a 
noble  animal. 

"  Hey  !"  he  cried.      "  At  last !  " 

The  countess  stepped  into  the  room  in  silence, 
threw  herself  upon  a  chair  and  crossed  her  legs. 
In  her  lace  and  velvet,  with  a  good  display  of 
smooth  black  stocking  and  of  snowy  petticoat, 
and  with  the  refined  profile  of  her  face  and  slender 
plumpness  of  her  body,  she  showed  in  singular 
contrast  to  the  big,  black,  intellectual  satyr  by 
the  fire. 

"  How  often  do  you  send  for  me.-*  "  she  cried. 
"It  is  compromising." 

Gondremark    laughed.      "Speaking    of    that, 
said    he,    "what    in   the   devil's  name  were  you 
about.''     ^'ou  were  not  home  till  morning." 

"  I  was  giving  alms,"  she  saitl. 

The  baron  again  laughed  loud  and  long,  for  in 
his  shirt-slee\cs  he  was  a  very  mirthful  creature. 
"It  is  fortunate  I  am  not  jealous,"  he  remarked. 
"But  you  know    my  way  ;  pleasure   and   liberty 


PRINCE   OTTO.  177 

go  hand  in  hand.  I  beheve  what  I  believe  ;  it  is 
not  much,  but  I  beheve  it.  But  now,  to  business. 
Have  you  not  read  my  letter  ?  " 

"No,"  she  said,   "  my  head  ached."' 

"Ah,  well  I  then  I  have  news  indeed!"  cried 
Gondremark.  "  I  was  mad  to  see  you  all  last  night 
and  all  this  morning  :  for  yesterday  afternoon,  I 
brought  my  long  business  to  a  head  ;  the  ship 
has  come  home  ;  one  more  dead  lift,  and  I 
shall  cease  to  fetch  and  carry  for  the  Princess 
Ratafia.  Yes,  it's  done.  I  have  the  order  all  in 
Ratafia's  hand  ;  I  carry  it  on  my  heart.  At  the 
hour  of  twelve  to-night.  Prince  Featherhead  is  to 
be  taken  in  his  bed  and,  like  the  bambino, 
whipped  into  a  chariot ;  and  by  next  morn- 
ing, he  will  command  a  most  romantic  prospect 
from  the  donjon  of  the  Felsenburg.  Farewell, 
Featherhead  !  The  war  goes  on,  the  girl  is  in  my 
hands  ;  I  have  long  been  indispensable,  but  now 
I  shall  be  sole.  I  have  long,"  he  added  exult- 
ingly,  "long  carried  this  intrigue  upon  my 
shoulders,  like  Samson  with  the  gates  of  Gaza  ; 
now  I  discharge  that  burden." 

She  had  sprung  to  her  feet  a  little  paler.  "  Is 
this  true  ?  "  she  cried. 

"I  tell  you  a  fact,"  he  asseverated.  "The 
trick  is  played. " 

"I    will    never    believe    it,"    she    said.      "An 

order.?     In  her  own  hand.?     I  will  never  believe 

it,  Heinrich." 
21 


178  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"I  swear  to  you,"  said  he. 

"  Oh,  what  do  you  care  for  oaths — or  I  either  ? 
What  would  you  swear  by  ?  Wine,  women  and 
song?  It  is  not  binding,"  she  said.  She  had 
come  quite  close  up  to  him  and  hiid  her  hand 
upon  his  arm.  "  As  for  the  order — no,  Ileinrich, 
never  !  I  will  never  believe  it.  I  will  die  ere  I 
believe  it.  You  have  some  secret  purpose — what 
I  cannot  guess — but  not  one  word  of  it  is  true." 

"Shall  I  show  it  you.?"  he  asked. 

"You  cannot,"  she  answered.  "There  is  no 
such  thing." 

"Incorrigible  Sadducee  !  "  he  cried.  "Well,  I 
will  convert  you,  you  shall  see  the  order."  He 
moved  to  a  chair  where  he  had  thrown  his  coat, 
and  then  drawing  forth  and  holding  out  a  paper, 
"  Read,"  said  he. 

She  took  it  greedily,  and  her  eye  flashed  as 
she  perused  it. 

"Hey!"  cried  the  baron,  "there  falls  a 
dynasty  ;  and  it  was  I  that  felled  it,  and  I  and 
you  inherit  !  "  He  seemed  to  swell  in  stature  ; 
and  next  moment,  with  a  laugh,  he  put  his  hand 
forward.      "Give  me  the  dagger,"   said  he. 

But  she  whisked  the  paper  suddenly  behind  her 
back  and  faced  him,  lowering.  "No,  no,"  she 
said.  "  You  and  I  have  first  a  point  to  settle. 
Do  you  suppose  me  blind  ?  She  could  never  have 
given  that  i)apcr  but  to  one  man,  antl  that  man 
her   lover.      Here   you   stand  -her  lover,    her  ac- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  179 

complice,  her  master — oh,  I  well  believe  it,  for  I 
know  your  power.  But  what  am  I  ?  "  she  cried  ; 
"  I,  whom  you  deceive  !  " 

"Jealousy!"  cried  Gondremark.  "Anna,  I 
would  never  have  believed  it  !  But  I  declare  to 
you  by  all  that's  credible,  that  I  am  not  her  lover. 
I  might  be,  I  suppose  ;  but  I  never  yet  durst  risk 
the  declaration.  The  chit  is  so  unreal  ;  a  mincing 
doll  ;  she  will  and  she  will  not  ;  there  is  no  count- 
ing on  her,  by  God  !  And  hitherto  I  have  had 
my  own  way  without,  and  keep  the  lover  in  re- 
serve. And  I  say,  Anna, "  he  added  with  severity, 
"you  must  break  yourself  of  this  new  fit,  my 
girl  ;  there  must  be  no  combustion.  I  keep  the 
creature  under  the  belief  that  I  adore  her  ;  and  if 
she  caught  a  breath  of  you  and  me,  she  is  such  a 
fool,  prude,  and  dog-in-the-manger,  that  she  is 
capable  of  spoiling  all." 

"All  very  fine,"  returned  the  lady.  "With 
whom  do  you  pass  your  days  ?  and  which  am  I 
to  believe,  your  words  or  your  actions  ?  " 

"Anna,  the  devil  take  you,  are  you  blind.-*'' 
cried  Gondremark.  "You  know  me.  Am  I 
likely  to  care  for  such  a  preciosa  ?  'Tis  hard  that 
we  should  have  been  together  for  so  long,  and 
you  should  still  take  me  for  a  troubadour.  But  if 
there  is  one  thing  that  I  despise  and  deprecate, 
it  is  all  such  figures  in  Berlin  wool.  Give  me  a 
human  woman — like  myself.  You  are  my  mate  ; 
you  were  made  for  me;  you   amuse    me  like  the 


l80  PRINCE    OTTO. 

play.  And  what  have  I  to  gain  that  I  should  pre- 
tend to  you  ?  If  I  do  not  love  you,  what  use  are 
you  to  me  ?  Why,  none.  It  is  as  clear  as  noon- 
day." 

"Do  you  love  me,  Ileinrich.?  "  she  asked, 
languishing.      "  Do  you  truly  ?  " 

"  I  tell  you,"  he  cried  "  I  love  you  next  after 
myself.     I  should  be  all  abroad  if  I  had  lost  you." 

"Well,  then,"  said  she,  folding  up  the  paper 
and  putting  it  calmly  in  her  pocket,  "  I  will  believe 
you,  and  I  join  the  plot.  Count  upon  me.  At  mid- 
night, did  you  say.?  It  is  Gordon,  I  see,  that  you 
have  charged  with  it.  Excellent ;  he  will  stick 
at  nothing." 

Gondremark  watched  her  suspiciously.  "Why 
do  you  take  that  paper.'  "  he  demanded.  "Give 
it  here." 

"No,"  she  returned,  "I  mean  to  keep  it.  It  is 
I  who  must  prepare  the  stroke  ;  you  cannot  man- 
age it  without  me  ;  and  to  do  my  best  I  must  pos- 
sess the  paper.  Where  shall  I  find  Gordon  ?  In 
his  rooms.?"  She  spoke  with  a  rather  feverish 
self-possession. 

"Anna,"  he  said  sternly,  the  black,  bilious 
countenance  of  his  palace  rO/e  taking  the  place  of 
the  more  open  favor  of  his  hours  at  home,  "  I  ask 
you  for  that  paper.     Once,  twice  and  thrice." 

"Heinrich,"  she  returned,  looking  him  in  llie 
face,  "take  care.  I  will  i>ut  up  with  no  dicta- 
tion. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  l8l 

Both  looked  dangerous  ;  and  the  silence  lasted 
for  a  measurable  interval  of  time.  Then  she 
made  haste  to  have  the  first  word  ;  and  with  a 
laugh  that  rang  clear  and  honest,  "Do  not  be 
a  child,"  she  said.  "  I  wonder  at  you.  If  your 
assurances  are  true,  you  can  have  no  reason  to 
mistrust  me,  nor  I  to  play  you  false.  The  diffi- 
culty is  to  get  the  prince  out  of  the  palace  without 
scandal.  His  valets  are  devoted  ;  his  chamber- 
lain a  slave  ;  and  yet  one  cry  might  ruin  all." 

"They  must  be  overpowered,"  he  said,  follow- 
ing her  to  the  new  ground,  "  and  disappear  along 
with  him." 

"And  your  whole  scheme  along  with  them  !  " 
she  cried.  "  He  does  not  take  his  servants  when 
he  goes  a-hunting  :  a  child  could  read  the  truth. 
No,  no  ;  the  plan  is  idiotic  ;  it  must  be  Ratafia's. 
But  hear  me.  You  know  the  prince  worships 
me  ? " 

"I  know,"  he  said.  "Poor  Featherhead,  I 
cross  his  destiny  !  " 

"Well  now,"  she  continued,  "  what  if  I  bring 
him  alone  out  of  the  palace,  to  some  quiet  corner 
of  the  park — the  Flying  Mercury,  for  instance  .-* 
Gordon  can  be  posted  in  the  thicket ;  the  carriage 
wait  behind  the  temple  ;  not  a  cry,  not  a  scuffle, 
not  a  footfall  :  simply,  the  prince  vanishes ! 
What  do  you  say  ?  Am  I  an  able  ally  ?  Are  my 
beaux  yciix  of  service .-'  Ah,  Heinrich,  do  not 
lose  your  Anna  !  she  has  power  !  " 


1 82  PRINCE   OTTO. 

He  struck  with  his  open  hand  upon  the  chimney. 
"  Which  !  "  he  said,  "  there  is  not  your  match  for 
devilry  in  luirope.  Service  !  the  thing-  runs  on 
wheels. " 

"Kiss  me,  then,  and  let  me  go.  I  must  not 
miss  my  Featherhead,"  she  said. 

"Stay,  stay,"  said  the  baron,  "not  so  fast.  I 
wish,  upon  my  soul,  that  I  could  trust  you  :  but 
you  are,  out  and  in,  so  whimsical  a  devil  that  I 
dare  not.      Hang  it,  Anna,  no  ;  it's  not  possible  !  " 

"You  doubt  me,  Ileinrich  .'^  "  she  cried. 

"Doubt  is  not  the  word,"'  said  he.  "I  know 
you.  Once  you  were  clear  of  me  with  that  paper 
in  your  pocket,  who  knows  wliat  you  would  do 
with  it?  not  you,  at  least — nor  I.  You  see,"  he 
added,  shaking  his  head  paternally  upon  the 
countess,   "you  are  as  vicious  as  a  monkey." 

"I  swear  to  you,"  she  cried,  "by  my  sal- 
vation— " 

"Singular  child  !  I  have  no  curiosity  to  hear 
you  swearing,"  said  the  baron. 

"  You  think  that  I  have  no  religion  ?  You  sup- 
pose me  destitute  of  honor.  Well,"  she  said, 
"see  here  :  I  will  not  argue,  but  I  tell  you  once 
for  all  :  leave  me  this  order  and  the  prince  shall 
be  arrested — take  it  from  me  and,  as  certain  as  I 
speak,  I  will  upset  the  coach.  Trust  me,  or  fear 
me  :  take  your  choice."  And  she  offered  him  the 
paper. 

The  baron,  in  a  great  contention  of  mind,  stood 


PRINCE   OTTO.  183 

irresolute,  weighing  the  two  dangers.  Once  his 
hand  advanced,  then  dropped.  "  Well,"  he  said, 
"since  trust  is  what  you  call  it — " 

"No  more,"  she  interrupted.  "Do  not  spoil 
your  attitude.  And  now  since  you  have  behaved 
like  a  good  sort  of  fellow  in  the  dark,  I  will  con- 
descend to  tell  you  why.  I  go  to  the  palace  to 
arrange  with  Gordon  ;  but  how  is  Gordon  to 
obey  me.-*  And  how  can  I  foresee  the  hours  ?  It 
may  be  midnight  ;  ay,  and  it  may  be  nightfall  ; 
all's  a  chance  ;  and  to  act,  I  must  be  free  and  hold 
the  strings  of  the  adventure.  And  now,  she 
cried,  "  your  Vivien  goes.  Dub  me  your  knight !  " 
And  she  held  out  her  arms  and  smiled  upon  him 
radiant. 

"Well,"  he  said,  when  he  had  kissed  her, 
"  every  man  must  have  his  folly  ;  I  thank  God 
mine  is  no  worse.  Off  with  you  !  1  have  given 
a  child  a  squib." 


I 84  PRINCE   OTTO. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PROVIDENCE      VON       ROSEN. ACT     THE      SECOND. — SHE 

INFORMS    THK    PRINCE. 

It  was  the  first  impulse  of  Madame  von  Rosen 
to  return  to  her  own  villa  and  revise  her  toilet. 
Whatever  else  should  come  of  this  adventure,  it 
was  her  firm  design  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  princess. 
And  before  that  woman,  so  little  beloved,  the 
countess  would  appear  at  no  disadvantage.  It 
was  the  work  of  minutes.  Von  Rosen  had  the 
captain's  eye  in  matters  of  the  toilet ;  she  was 
none  of  those  who  hang  in  Fabian  helplessness 
among  their  finery  and,  after  hours,  come  forth 
upon  the  world  as  dowdies.  A  glance,  a  loosened 
curl,  a  studied  and  admired  disorder  in  the  hair, 
a  bit  of  lace,  a  touch  of  color,  a  yellow  rose  im- 
planted in  the  bosom,  and  the  instant  picture  was 
complete. 

"That  will  do,"  she  said.  "Bid  my  carriage 
follow  me  to  the  palace.  In  half  an  hour  it  should 
be  there  in  waiting." 

The  night  was  beginning  to  fall,  and  the  shops 
to  shine  with  lamps  along  the  tree-beshadowed 
thoroughfares  of  Otto's  capital,  when  the  count- 
ess started  on  her  high  emprise.     She  was  jocund 


PRINCE  OTTO.  185 

at  heart  ;  pleasure  and  interest  had  winged  her 
beauty,  and  she  knew  it.  She  paused  before  the 
glowing  jeweler's  ;  she  remarked  and  praised  a 
costume  in  the  milliner's  window  ;  and  when  she 
reached  the  lime-tree  walk,  with  its  high  umbra- 
geous arches  and  stir  of  passers-by  in  the  dim 
alleys,  she  took  her  place  upon  a  bench  and  dallied 
with  the  pleasures  of  the  hour.  It  was  cold,  but 
she  did  not  feel  it,  being  warm  within  ;  her 
thoughts,  in  that  dark  corner,  shone  like  the  gold 
and  rubies  at  the  jeweler's  ;  her  ears,  which  heard 
the  brushing  of  so  many  footfalls,  transposed  it 
into  music. 

What  was  she  to  do .''  She  held  the  paper  by 
which  all  depended.  Otto  and  Gondremark  and 
Ratafia,  and  the  estate  itself,  hung  light  in  her 
balances,  as  light  as  dust ;  her  little  finger  laid  in 
either  scale  would  set  all  flying  ;  and  she  hugged 
herself  upon  her  huge  preponderance,  and  then 
laughed  aloud  to  think  how  giddily  it  might  be 
used.  The  vertigo  of  omnipotence,  the  disease 
of  Caesars,  shook  her  reason.  "Oh,  the  mad 
world  !  "  she  thought,  and  laughed  aloud  in  exult- 
ation. 

A  child,  finger  in  mouth,  had  paused  a  little  way 
from  where  she  sat,  and  stared  with  cloudy  inter- 
est upon  this  laughing  lady.  She  called  it  nearer  ; 
but  the  child  hung  back.  Instantly  with  that  curi- 
ous passion  which  you  may  see  any  woman  in 
the  world  display,  on  the  most  odd  occasions,  for 


1 86  PRINCE   OTTO. 

a  similar  end,  the  countess  bent  herself  with  sin- 
gleness of  mind  to  overcome  this  diffidence  ;  and 
presently,  sure  enough,  the  child  was  seated  on 
her  knee,  thumbing  and  glowering  at  her  watch. 

"If  you  had  a  clay  bear  and  a  china  monkey," 
asked  Von  Rosen,  "which  would  you  prefer  to 
break  ? " 

"But  I  have  neither,''  said  the  child. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "here  is  a  bright  florin,  with 
which  you  may  purchase  both  the  one  and  the 
other ;  and  I  shall  give  it  you  at  once,  if  you  will 
answer  my  question.  The  clay  bear  or  the  china 
monkey — come  !  " 

But  the  unbreeched  soothsayer  only  stared  upon 
the  florin  with  big  eyes  ;  the  oracle  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  reply  ;  and  the  countess  kissed  him 
lightly,  gave  him  the  florin,  set  him  down  upon 
the  path  and  resumed  her  way  with  swinging  and 
elastic  gait. 

"Which  shall  I  break.?"  she  wondered;  and 
she  passed  her  hand  with  delight  among  the  care- 
ful disarrangement  of  her  locks.  "Which  ?  "  and 
she  consulted  heaven  with  her  bright  eyes.  "Do 
I  love  both  or  neither  ?  A  little — passionately — 
not  at  all  ?  Both  or  neither — both,  I  believe,  but 
at  least  I  will  make  hay  of  Ratatia. " 

By  the  time  she  had  passed  the  iron  gates, 
mounted  the  drive,  and  set  her  foot  upon  the 
broad-flagged  terrace,  the  night  had  come  com- 
pletely ;  the  palace  front  was  thick  with  lighted 


PRINCE   OTTO.  187 

windows  ;  and  along  the  balustrade,  the  lamp  on 
every  twentieth  baluster  shone  clear.  A  few 
withered  tracks  of  sunset,  amber  and  glowworm 
green,  still  lingered  in  the  western  sky  ;  and  she 
paused  once  more  to  watch  them  fading. 

"And  to  think,"  she  said,  "that  here  am  I — 
destiny  embodied,  a  norn,  a  fate,  a  providence^ 
and  have  no  guess  upon  which  side  I  shall  declare 
myself!"  Otto's  windows  were  bright  among 
the  rest,  and  she  looked  on  them  with  rising  ten- 
derness. "  How  does  it  feel  to  be  deserted  ? '"  she 
thought.  "Poor,  dear  fool!  The  girl  deserves 
that  he  should  see  this  order." 

Without  more  delay,  she  passed  into  the  palace 
and  asked  for  an  audience  of  Prince  Otto.  The 
prince,  she  was  told,  was  in  his  own  apartment, 
and  desired  to  be  private.  She  sent  her  name. 
A  man  presently  returned  with  word  that  the 
prince  tendered  his  apologies,  but  could  see  no 
one.  ' '  Then  I  will  write, "  she  said,  and  scribbled 
a  few  lines  alleging  urgency  of  life  and  death. 
"Help  me,  my  prince,"  she  added,  "none  but 
you  can  help  me."  This  time  the  messenger  re- 
turned more  speedily  and  begged  the  countess  to 
follow  him  ;  the  prince  was  graciously  pleased  to 
receive  the  Frau  Grafin  von  Rosen. 

Otto  sat  by  the  fire  in  his  large  armory,  weap- 
ons faintly  glittering  all  about  him  in  the  change- 
ful light.  His  face  was  disfigured  by  the  marks 
of  weeping.      He  looked  sour  and  sad  ;  nor  did 


1 88  PRINCE   OTTO. 

he  rise  to  greet  his  visitor,  but  bowed  and  bade 
the  man  begone.  That  kind  of  general  tender- 
ness which  served  the  countess  for  both  heart 
and  conscience,  sharply  smote  her  at  this  spec- 
tacle of  grief  and  weakness  ;  she  began  imme- 
diately to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  her  part ;  and 
as  soon  as  they  were  alone,  taking  one  step 
forward  and  with  a  magnificent  gesture — "  Up  !  " 
she  cried. 

"  Madame  von  Rosen,"  replied  Otto  dully, 
"you  have  used  strong  words.  You  speak  of 
life  and  death.  Pray,  madame,  who  is  threat- 
ened.?  Who  is  there,"  he  added  bitterly,  "so 
destitute  that  even  Otto  of  Griinewald  can  assist 
him  .-*  " 

"  First  learn,"  said  she,  "  the  names  of  the 
conspirators  :  the  Princess  and  the  Baron  Gon- 
dremark.  Can  you  not  guess  the  rest  .-*  "  And 
then  as  he  maintained  his  silence — "You!" 
she  cried,  pointing  at  him  with  her  finger. 
"  'Tis  you  they  threaten  !  Your  rascal  and  mine 
have  laid  their  heads  together  and  condemned 
you.  But  they  reckoned  without  you  and  me. 
We  make  zl parlie  carre,  prince,  in  love  and  poli- 
tics. They  lead  an  ace,  but  we  shall  trump  it. 
Come,  partner,  shall  I  draw  my  card  .''  " 

"  Madame,"  he  said,  "  explain  yourself.  In- 
deed I  fail  to  comprehend." 

' '  See,  then, "  said  she  ;  and  handed  him  the  order. 

He  took  it,  looked  upon   it  with    a    start  ;  and 


PRINCE   OTTO.  189 

then,  still    without   speech,   he  put  his  hand  be- 
fore his  face.     She  waited  for  a  word  in  vain. 

"  What  .^  "  she  cried,  "do  you  take  the  thing 
down-heartedly  .''  As  well  seek  wine  in  a  milk- 
pail  as  love  in  that  girl's  heart  !  Be  done  with 
this,  and  be  a  man.  After  the  league  of  the  lions, 
let  us  have  a  conspiracy  of  mice,  and  pull  this 
piece  of  machinery  to  ground.  You  were  brisk 
enough  last  night  when  nothing  was  at  stake  and 
all  was  frolic.  Well,  here  is  better  sport ;  here  is 
life  indeed." 

He  got  to  his  feet  with  some  alacrity,  and  his 
face,  which  was  a  little  flushed,  bore  the  marks  of 
resolution. 

"  Madame  von  Rosen,"  said  he,  "1  am  neither 
unconscious  nor  ungrateful ;  this  is  the  true  con- 
tinuation of  your  friendship  ;  but  I  see  that  I 
must  disappoint  your  expectations.  You  seem  to 
expect  from  me  some  effort  of  resistance  ;  but 
why  should  I  resist .'  I  have  not  much  to  gain  ; 
and  now  that  I  have  read  this  paper,  and  the  last 
of  a  fool's  paradise  is  shattered,  it  would  be  hyper- 
bolical to  speak  of  loss  in  the  same  breath  with 
Otto  of  Griinewald.  I  have  no  party  ;  no  policy; 
no  pride,  nor  anything  to  be  proud  of.  For  what 
benefit  or  principle  below  the  sky  do  you  expect 
me  to  contend  ?  Would  you  have  me  bite  and 
scratch  like  a  trapped  weasel  ?  No,  madame ; 
signify  to  those  who  sent  you  my  readiness  to  go. 
I  would  at  least  avoid  a  scandal." 


190  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"You  go? — of  your  own  will,  you  go?"  she 
cried. 

"  I  cannot  say  so  much  perhaps,"  he  answered  ; 
"but  1  go  with  good  alacrity.  I  have  desired  a 
change  some  time  ;  behold  one  offered  me  !  Shall 
I  refuse?  Thank  God,  I  am  not  so  destitute  of 
humor  as  to  make  a  tragedy  of  such  a  farce." 
He  flicked  the  order  on  the  table.  "  You  may 
signify  my  readiness,"  he  added,  grandly. 

"  Ah,"  she  said,  "you  are  more  angry  than  you 
own. " 

"I,  madame  ?  angry  ?"  he  cried.  "  You  rave. 
I  have  no  cause  for  anger.  In  every  way  I  have 
been  taught  my  weakness,  my  instability  and  my 
unfitness  for  the  world.  I  am  a  plexus  of  weak- 
nesses, an  impotent  prince,  a  doubtful  gentleman; 
and  you  yourself,  indulgent  as  you  are,  have 
twice  reproved  my  levity.  And  shall  I  be  angry  ? 
I  may  feel  the  unkindness,  but  I  have  sufficient 
honesty  of  mind  to  see  the  reasons  of  this  coup 
d'etat." 

"  From  whom  have  you  got  this?"  she  cried 
in  wonder.  "You  think  you  have  not  behaved 
well  ?  My  prince,  were  you  not  young  and  hand- 
some, I  should  detest  you  for  your  virtues.  You 
push  them  to  the  verge  of  commonplace.  And 
this  ingratitude — ■" 

"Understand  me,  Madame  von  Rosen,'"  re- 
turned the  prince,  flushing  a  little  darker,  "there 
can  ])e  here  no   talk   of  gratilutlo,  none   of  pride. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  191 

You  are  here,  by  what  circumstance  I  know  not, 
but  doubtless  led  by  your  kindness,  mixed  up  in 
what  regards  my  family  alone.  You  have  no 
knowledge  what  my  wife,  your  sovereign,  may 
have  suffered  ;  it  is  not  for  you— no,  nor  for  me 
— to  judge.  I  own  myself  in  fault ;  and  were  it 
otherwise,  a  man  were  a  very  empty  boaster,  who 
should  talk  of  love  and  start  before  a  small  humil- 
iation. It  is  in  all  the  copy-books  that  one  should 
die  to  please  his  lady-love  ;  and  shall  a  man  not 
go  to  prison  ?  " 

"  Love.'*  And  what  has  love  to  do  with  being 
sent  to  jail?"  exclaimed  the  countess,  appealing 
to  the  walls  and  roof.  "Heaven  knows  I  think 
as  much  of  love  as  any  one  ;  my  life  would  prove 
it  ;  but  I  admit  no  love  but  what  is  equally  re- 
turned.     The  rest  is  moonshine." 

"I  think  of  love  more  absolutely,  madame, 
though  I  am  certain  no  more  tenderly,  than  a  lady 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  such  kindnesses," 
returned  the  prince.  "But  this  is  unavailing. 
We  are  not  here  to  hold  a  court  of  troubadours." 

"Still,"  she  replied,  "there  is  one  thing  you 
forget.  If  she  conspires  with  Gondremark  against 
your  liberty,  she  may  conspire  with  him  against 
your  honor  also." 

"  j\Iy  honor.?  '  he  repeated.  "For  a  woman 
you  surprise  me.  If  I  have  failed  to  gain  her  love 
or  play  my  part  of  husband,  what  right  is  left 
me  ?  or  what  honor  can  remain  in  such  a  scene 


192  TRINCE    OT'IO. 

of  failure  ?  No  honor  that  I  recognize.  I  am  be- 
come a  stranger.  If  my  wife  no  longer  loves  me, 
I  will  go  to  prison  since  she  wills  it  ;  if  she  love 
another,  where  should  I  be  more  in  place  ?  or 
Avhosc  fault  is  it  but  mine  ?  You  speak,  Madame 
von  Rosen,  like  too  many  women,  with  a  man's 
tongue.  Had  I  myself  fallen  into  temptation  (as 
heaven  knows,  I  might)  I  should  have  trembled 
but  still  hoped  and  asked  for  her  forgiveness  ;  and 
yet  mine  had  been  a  treason  in  the  teeth  of  love. 
But  let  me  tell  you,  madame, "  he  pursued,  with 
rising  irritation,  "where  a  husband  by  futility, 
facility,  and  ill-timed  humors  has  outwearied  his 
wife's  patience,  I  will  suffer  neither  man  nor 
woman  to  misjudge  her.  She  is  free  :  the  man 
has  been  found  wanting." 

"Because  she  loves  you  not  ?"  the  countess 
cried.  "You  know  she  is  incapable  of  such  a 
feeling. " 

"Rather,  it  was  I  who  has  born  incapable  of 
winning  it,"  said  Otto. 

Madame  von  Rosen  broke  into  sudden  laughter. 
"Fool,"  she  cried,  "  I  am  in  love  with  you  my- 
self." 

"Ah,  madame,  you  are  most  compassionate," 
the  prince  retorted,  smiling.  "  But  this  is  waste 
debate.  I  know  my  jiurpose.  Perhaps,  to  equal 
you  in  frankness,  1  laiow  and  embrace  my  ad- 
vanta!.;;-c.  I  am  not  witlioiit  tlu' spirit  of  adventure. 
I  am  ill  a  false  position — so  rccognizi.'(l  l)y  [)ublic 


PRINCE   OTTO.  193 

acclamation  :    do    you    grudge    me,     then,     my 
issue  ?  " 

"If  your  mind  is  made  up,  why  should  I  dis- 
suade you  ?  "  said  the  countess.  "  I  own,  with  a 
bare  face,  I  am  the  gainer.  Go,  you  take  my 
heart  with  you,  or  more  of  it  than  I  desire  ;  I 
shall  not  sleep  at  night  for  thinking  of  your 
misery.  But  do  not  be  afraid  ;  I  would  not  spoil 
you,  you  are  such  a  fool  and  hero." 

"Alas,  madame,"  cried  the  prince,  "and  your 
unlucky  money,  I  did  amiss  to  take  it,  but  you 
are  a  wonderful  persuader.  And  I  thank  God,  I 
can  still-offer  you  the  fair  equivalent. "  He  took 
some  papers  from  the  chimney.  ' '  Here,  madame, 
are  the  title  deeds,"  he  said  ;  "  where  I  am  going, 
they  can  certainly  be  of  no  use  to  me,  and  I  have 
now  no  other  hope  of  making  up  to  you  your 
kindness.  You  made  the  loan  without  formality, 
obeying  your  kind  heart.  The  parts  are  some- 
what changed  ;  the  sun  of  this  Prince  of  Griine- 
wald  is  upon  the  point  of  setting  ;  and  I  know 
you  better  than  to  doubt  you  will  once  more 
waive  ceremony,  and  accept  the  best  that  I  can 
give  you.  If  I  may  look  for  any  pleasure  in  the 
coming  time,  it  will  be  to  remember  that  the 
peasant  is  secure,  and  my  most  generous  friend 
no  loser." 

"  Do  you  not  understand  my  odious  position  ?  " 
cried    the    countess.      "Dear  prince,    it   is    upon 
your  fall  that  I  begin  my  fortune." 
13 


194  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"It  was  the  more  like  you  to  tempt  mc  to 
resistance,"  returned  Otto.  "  But  this  cannot 
alter  our  relations  ;  and  I  must,  for  the  last  time, 
lay  my  commands  upon  you  in  the  character  of 
prince."  And  with  his  loftiest  dignity,  he  forced 
the  deeds  on  her  acceptance.' 

"  I  hate  tlie  very  touch  of  them,"  she  cried. 

There  followed  upon  this  a  little  silence.  "At 
what  time,"  resumed  Otto,  "  if  indeed  you  know, 
am  I  to  be  arrested .''  " 

"  Your  highness,  when  you  please  !  "  exclaimed 
tlie  countess.  ''Or  if  you  choose  to.  tear  that 
paper,  never  !  " 

"I  wouUl  rather  it  were  done  quickly,"  said  the 
prince.  "I  shall  take  but  time  to  leave  a  letter 
for  the  princess." 

"  Well,"  said  the  countess,  "  I  have  advised  you 
to  resist ;  at  the  same  time,  if  you  intend  to  be 
dumb  before  your  shearers,  I  must  say  that  I 
ought  to  set  about  arranging  your  arrest.  I 
offered  " — she  hesitated — "  I  offered  to  manage  it, 
intending,  my  dear  friend,  intending,  upon  my 
soul,  to  be  of  use  to  you.  Well,  if  you  will  not 
profit  by  my  good  will,  then  be  of  use  to  me  ;  and 
as  soon  as  ever  you  feel  ready,  go  to  the  Flying 
Mercury  where  we  met  last  night.  It  will  be 
none  the  worse  for  you  ;  and  to  make  it  quite 
plain,  it  will  be  better  for  the  rest  of  us." 

"Dear  madame,  certainly,"  said  Otto.  "  If  I  am 
prepared  for  the  chief  evil,  I  shall  not  quarrel  with 


PRIN'CE   OTTO.  195 

details.  Go,  then,  with  my  best  gratitude  ;  and 
when  I  have  written  a  few  lines  of  leave-taking,  I 
shall  immediately  hasten  to  keep  tryst.  To-night, 
I  shall  not  meet  so  dangerous  a  cavalier,"  he 
added,  with  a  smiling  gallantry. 

As  soon  as  Madame  von  Rosen  was  gone,  he 
made  a  great  call  upon  his  self-command.  He 
was  face  to  face  with  a  miserable  passage  where, 
if  it  were  possible,  he  desired  to  carry  himself  with 
dignity.  As  to  the  main  fact,  he  never  swerved 
or  faltered ;  he  had  come  so  heart-sick  and  so 
cruelly  humiliated  from  his  talk  with  Gotthold, 
that  he  embraced  the  notion  of  imprisonment  with 
something  bordering  on  joy.  Here  was,  at  least, 
a  step  which  he  thought  blameless ;  here  was  a 
way  from  out  his  troubles.  He  sat  down  to  write 
to  Seraphina  ;  and  his  anger  blazed.  The  tale  of 
his  forbearances  mounted,  in  his  eyes,  to  some- 
thing monstrous  ;  still  more  monstrous,  the  cold- 
ness, egotism  and  cruelty,  that  had  required  and 
thus  requited  them.  The  pen  which  he  had  taken 
trembled  in  his  hand.  He  was  amazed  to  find  his 
resignation  fled,  but  was  not  able  to  recall  it.  In 
a  few  white-hot  words  he  bade  adieu,  dubbed 
desperation  by  the  name  of  love,  and  called  hfs 
wrath  forgiveness;  cast  but  one  look  of  leave- 
taking  upon  the  place  that  was  no  longer  to  be 
his  ;  and  hurried  forth — love's  prisoner — or  pride's. 

He  took  the  private  passage,  trod  so  often  in 
less  momentous  hours.     The  porter  let  him  out ; 


^9^  PRINCE   OTTO. 

and  the  bountiful,  cold  air  of  night  and  the  pure 
glory  of  the  stars  received  him  on  the  threshold. 
He  looked  around  him,  breathing  deep  of  earth's 
plain  fragrance  ;  he  looked  up  into  the  great  array 
of  heaven,  and  was  quieted.  His  little  turgid  life 
dwindled  to  its  true  proportions  ;  he  saw  this 
great,  flame-hearted  martyr  stand  but  a  speck  in 
that  cool  cupola  of  night ;  he  felt  his  cureless  in- 
juries already  soothed  ;  the  live  air  of  out-of-doors, 
the  quiet  of  the  world,  as  if  by  their  silent  music, 
sobered  his  emotions. 

"Well,  I  forgive  her/'  he  said.  "If  it  be  of 
any  use  to  her,  I  forgive. " 

And  with  brisk  steps,  he  crossed  the  garden, 
issued  upon  the  park,  and  by  a  glimmering  alley, 
came  at  last  to  where  the  Flying  Mercury  stood 
poised.  A  dark  figure  moved  forward  from  the 
shadow  of  the  pedestal. 

"I  have  to  ask  your  pardon,  sir,"  a  voice  ob- 
served, "  but  if  I  am  right  in  taking  you  for  the 
prince,  I  was  given  to  understand  that  you  would 
be  prepared  to  meet  me. " 

"  Herr  Gordon,  I  believe  ?  "  said  Otto. 

"  Herr  Oberst  Gordon,"  replied  that  officer. 
"  This  is  rather  a  ticklish  business  for  a  man  to 
be  cmbarketl  in  ;  and  to  find  that  all  is  to  go 
pleasantly,  is  a  great  relief  to  me.  The  carriage 
is  at  hand,  shall  I  have  the  honor  of  following 
your  highness .''  " 

"Colonel,"  said  the  prince,  "I  have  now  come 


PRINCE   OTTO.  197 

to  that  happy  moment  of  my  Hfe,  when  I  have 
orders  to  receive  but  none  to  give." 

"  A  most  philosophical  remark  !  "  returned  the 
colonel.  "Begad,  a  very  pertinent  remark!  it 
might  be  Plutarch.  I  am  not  a  drop's  blood  to 
your  highness  or  indeed  to  anyone  in  this  princi- 
pality ;  or  else  I  should  dislike  my  orders.  But 
as  it  is,  and  since  there  is  nothing  unnatural  or 
unbecoming  on  my  side,  and  your  highness  takes 
it  in  good  part,  I  begin  to  believe  we  may  have 
a  capital  time  together,  sir — a  capital  time.  For 
a  jailer  is  only  a  fellow  captive." 

"May  I  inquire,  Herr  Gordon,"  asked  Otto, 
"what  led  you  to  accept  this  dangerous  and  I 
would  fain  hope  thankless  office  ?  " 

"Very  natural,  I  am  sure,"  replied  the  officer 
of  fortune.  "  My  pay  is,  in  the  meanwhile, 
doubled. " 

"Well,  sir,  I  will  not  presume  to  criticise,"  re- 
turned the  prince.  "And  I  perceive  the  car- 
riage." 

Sure  enough,  at  the  intersection  of  two  alleys 
of  the  park,  a  coach  and  four,  conspicuous  by  its 
lanterns,  stood  in  waiting.  And  a  little  way  off 
about  a  score  of  lancers  were  drawn  up  under  the 
shadow  of  the  trees. 


198  PRINCE   OTTO. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

PROVIDENCE    VON    ROSEN. ACT    THE     THIRD. SHE    EN- 
LIGHTENS   SERAPHINA. 

When  Madame  von  Rosen  left  the  prince,  she 
hurried  straight  to  Colonel  Gordon  ;  and  not  con- 
tent with  directing  the  arrangements,  she  had 
herself  accompanied  the  soldier  of  fortune  to  the 
Flying  Mercur3^  The  colonel  gave  her  his  arm, 
and  the  talk  between  this  pair  of  conspirators  ran 
high  and  lively.  The  countess,  indeed,  was  in  a 
whirl  of  pleasure  and  excitement  ;  her  tongue 
stumbled  upon  laughter,  her  eyes  shone,  the 
color  that  was  usually  wanting  now  perfected  her 
face.  It  would  have  taken  little  more  to  bring 
Gordon  to  her  feet — or  so,  at  least,  she  thought, 
disdaining  the  idea. 

Hid  in  some  lilac  bushes,  she  enjoyed  the  great 
decorum  of  the  arrest,  and  heard  the  dialogue  of 
the  two  men  die  away  along  the  path.  Soon  after 
the  rolling  of  a  carriage  and  the  beat  of  hoofs  arose 
in  the  still  air  of  night,  and  passed  speedily  further 
and  fainter  into  silence.     The  prince  was  gone. 

Madame  von  Rosen  consulted  her  watch.  She 
had  still,  she  thought,  time  enough  for  the  tit-bit 


PRINCE   OTTO.  199 

of  her  evening ;  and  hurrying  to  the  palace, 
winged  by  the  fear  of  Gondremark's  arrival,  she 
sent  her  name  and  a  pressing  request  for  a  re- 
ception to  the  Princess  Seraphina.  As  the 
Countess  von  Rosen  undisguised,  she  was  secure 
of  a  refusal  ;  but  as  an  emissary  of  the  barons, 
for  so  she  chose  to  style  herself,  she  gained  im- 
mediate entry. 

The  princess  sat  alone  at  table,  making  a  feint 
of  dining.  Her  cheeks  were  mottled,  her  eyes 
heavy ;  she  had  neither  slept  nor  eaten  ;  even 
her  dress  had  been  neglected.  In  short,  she  was 
out  of  health,  out  of  looks,  out  of  heart,  and  hag- 
rid  by  her  conscience.  The  countess  drew  a 
swift  comparison,  and  shone  brighter  still  in 
beauty. 

"You  come,  madame,  de  la  pari  de  Monsieur 
le  ^fl/'o?^,"  drawled  the  princess.  "Be  seated! 
what  have  you  to  say  .-'  " 

"To  say.''"  repeated  Madame  von  Rosen. 
"Oh,  much  to  say  !  INIuch  to  say,  that  I  would 
rather  not,  and  much  to  leave  unsaid  that  I  would 
rather  say.  For  I  am  like  St.  Paul,  your  highness, 
and  always  wish  to  do  the  things  I  should  not. 
Well  !  to  be  categorical — that  is  the  word .? — I 
took  the  prince  your  order.  He  could  not  credit 
his  senses.  'Ah,' he  cried,  'dear  INIadame  von 
Rosen,  it  is  not  possible — it  cannot  be — I  must 
hear  it  from  your  lips.  INIy  wife  is  a  poor  girl 
misled,  she  is  only  silly,  she  is  not  cruel.'     '  Mon 


200  PRINCE   OTTO. 

Prince,'  s^\(l  I,  '  a  girl — and  therefore  cruel  ;  youth 
kills  flies.'     He  had  such  pain  to  understand  it.  !  " 

"Madame  von  Rosen,"  said  the  princess,  in 
most  steadfast  tones  but  with  a  rose  of  anther  in 
her  face,  "who  sent  you  here,  and  for  what  pur- 
pose.'' Tell  your  errand.  Hitherto  you  have  but 
tried  my  patience.'' 

"Oh,  madame,  I  believe  you  understand  me 
very  well,''  returned  Von  Rosen.  "I  have  not 
your  philosophy.  I  wear  my  heart  upon  my 
sleeve,  excuse  the  indecency  !  It  is  a  very  little 
one,"  she  laughed,  "  and  I  so  often  change  the 
sleeve  !  " 

"Am  I  to  understand  the  prince  has  been  ar- 
rested .'  "  asked  the  princess,  rising. 

"  While  you  sat  there  dining  !  "  cried  the  count- 
ess, still  nonchalantly  seated. 

"You  have  discharged  your  errand,  "was  the 
reply,  "  I  will  not  detain  you." 

"Oh,  no,  madame,"  said  the  countess,  "with 
your  permission,  I  have  not  yet  done.  I  have 
borne  much  this  evening  in  your  service.  I  have 
suffered.  I  was  made  to  suffer  in  your  service." 
She  unfolded,  as  she  spoke,  her  fan.  Quick  as 
her  pulses  beat,  the  fan  waved  languidly.  It  was 
in  her  bright  face  and  eyes,  and  her  triumphant 
beauty,  looking  down,  mile  deep,  upon  her  rival, 
that  the  thrill  of  her  emotion  stood  confessed. 

"You  are  no  servant,  Madame  von  Rosen, 
of  mine,"  said  Seraphina. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  201 

"No,  madame,  indeed, "  returned  the  countess  ; 
"  but  we  both  serve  the  same  person,  as  you  know 
■ — or  if  you  do  not,  then  I  have  the  pleasure  of  in- 
forming you.  Your  conduct  is  so  Vight — so  light," 
she  repeated,  the  fan  wavering  higher  like  a 
butterfly,  "that  perhaps  you  do  not  truly  under- 
stand." The  countess  rolled  her  fan  together, 
laid  it  in  her  lap,  and  rose  to  a  less  languorous 
position.  "Indeed,  "she  continued,  "I  should  be 
sorry  to  see  any  young  woman  in  your  situation. 
You  began  with  every  advantage,  birth,  a  suit- 
able marriage — quite  pretty  too — and  see  what 
you  have  come  to  !  ]\Iy  poor  girl,  to  think  of  it  ! 
But  there  is  nothing  that  does  so  much  harm," 
observed  the  countess  finely,  "as  giddiness  of 
mind.'"  And  she  once  more  unfurled  the  fan,  and 
fanned  herself  approvingly. 

"I  will  no  longer  permit  you  to  forget  your- 
self," cried  Seraphina.  "What  have  you  been 
doing.-*     You  are  mad,  I  think." 

"Not  mad,"  returned  Yon  Rosen.  "Sane 
enough  to  know  you  dare  not  break  with  me  to- 
night, and  to  profit  by  the  knowledge.  I  left  my 
poor,  pretty  Prince  Charming  crying  his  eyes  out 
for  a  wooden  doll.  INIy  heart  is  soft  ;  I  love  my 
pretty  prince  ;  you  will  never  understand  it,  but  I 
long  to  give  my  prince  his  doll,  dry  his  poor  eyes, 
and  send  him  happy  with  a  kiss.  Oh,  you  im- 
mature fool !  "  the  countess  cried,  rose  to  her  feet, 
and  pointed  at  the  princess  the  closed  fan  that  now 


202  INCE   OTTO. 

began  to  tremble  in  her  hand.  "  Oh  wooden 
doll  !  "  she  cried,  "have  you  a  heart,  or  blood,  or 
any  nature.?  This  is  a  man,  child — a  man  who 
loves  you.  Oh,  it  will  not  happen  twice  !  it  is  not 
common  ;  beautiful  and  clever  women  look  in 
vain  for  it.  And  you,  you  pitiful  school-girl, 
tread  this  jewel  underfoot  !  you,  stupid  with  your 
vanity  !  Before  you  try  to  govern  kingdoms,  you 
should  first  be  able  to  behave  yourself  at  home  ; 
home  is  the  woman's  kingdom. "  She  paused  and 
laughed  a  little,  strangely  to  hear  and  look  upon. 
"I  will  tell  you  one  of  the  things, "she  said, 
"that  were  to  stay  unspoken.  Von  Rosen  is  a 
better  woman  than  you,  my  princess,  though  you 
will  never  have  the  pain  of  understanding  it  ;  and 
when  I  took  the  prince  your  order,  and  looked 
upon  his  face,  my  soul  was  melted — oh,  I  am 
frank — here,  within  my  arms,  I  offered  him  re- 
pose !  "  She  advanced  a  step  superbly  as  she 
spoke,  with  outstretched  arms ;  and  Seraphina 
shrunk.  "Do  not  be  alarmed  !"' the  countess 
cried  ;  "  I  am  not  offering  that  hermitage  to  you  ; 
in  all  the  world  there  is  but  one  who  wants  to, 
and  him  you  have  dismissed  !  '  If  it  will  give  her 
pleasure  I  should  wear  the  martyr's  crown,'  he 
cried,  '  I  will  embrace  the  thorns.'  I  tell  you — I 
am  quite  frank — I  put  the  order  in  his  power  and 
begged  him  to  resist.  You,  who  have  betrayed 
your  husband,  may  betray  me  to  Gondremark  ; 
my  prince  would  betray  no  one.     Understand  it 


PRINCE  OTTO.  203 

plainly,"  she  cried,  '''tis  of  his  pure  forbearance 
you  sit  there  ;  he  had  the  power — I  gave  it  him — 
to  change  the  parts  ;  and  he  refused,  and  went  to 
prison  in  your  place. " 

The  princess  spoke  with  some  distress.  "  Your 
violence  shocks  me  and  pains  me,"  she  began, 
"but  I  cannot  be  angry  with  what  at  least  does 
honor  to  the  mistaken  kindness  of  your  heart  :  it 
was  ric:ht  for  me  to  know  this.  I  will  condescend 
to  tell  you.  It  was  with  deep  regret  that  I  was 
driven  to  this  step.  I  admit  in  many  ways  the 
prince — I  admit  his  amiability.  It  was  our  great 
misfortune,  it  was,  perhaps,  somewhat  of  my  fault, 
that  we  were  so  unsuited  to  each  other  ;  but  I  have 
a  regard,  a  real  regard,  for  all  his  qualities.  As  a 
private  person  I  should  think  as  you  do.  It  is 
difficult,  I  know,  to  make  allowances  for  state 
considerations.  I  have  only  with  sincere  reluct- 
ance obeyed  the  call  of  a  superior  duty  ;  and  so 
soon  as  I  dare  do  it  for  the  safety  of  the  state,  I 
promise  you  the  prince  shall  be  released.  Many, 
in  my  situation,  would  have  resented  your  free- 
doms. I  am  not — "  and  she  looked  for  a  moment 
rather  piteously  upon  the  countess,  "I  am  not 
altogether  so  inhuman  as  you  think. " 

"  And  you  can  put  these  troubles  of  the  state," 
the  countess  cried,  "to  weigh  with  a  man's 
love .? " 

"Madame  von  Rosen,  these  troubles  are  affairs 
of  life  and  death  to  many  ;  to  the  prince,  and  per- 


204  PRINXE   OTTO. 

haps  even  to  yourself,  among  the  number,"  re- 
plied the  princess  with  diynity.  "  I  have  learned, 
madame,  although  still  so  young,  in  a  hard  school, 
that  my  own  feelings  must  everywhere  come 
last. " 

"Oh,  callow  innocence  !  "  exclaimed  the  other. 
"Is  it  possible  you  do  not  know,  or  not  suspect, 
the  intrigue  in  which  you  move.''  I  tind  it  in  my 
heart  to  pity  you  !  We  are  both  women  after  all 
— poor  girl,  poor  girl  !  and  who  is  born  a  woman 
is  born  a  fool.  And  though  I  hate  all  women — 
come,  for  the  common  folly,  I  forgive  you. 
Your  highness  " — slie  dropped  a  deep  stage  court- 
esy and  resumed  her  fan — "  I  am  going  to  insult 
you,  to  betray  one  who  is  called  my  lover,  and 
if  you  please  to  use  the  power,  to  ruin  my  dear 
self.  Oh,  what  a  French  comedy  !  You  betray, 
I  betray,  they  betray.  It  is  now  my  cue.  The 
letter,  yes.  Behold  the  letter,  madame,  its  seal 
unbroken  as  I  found  it  by  my  bed  this  morn- 
ing ;  for  I  was  out  of  humor,  and  I  get  many,  too 
many  of  these  favors.  For  your  own  sake,  for 
the  sake  of  my  Prince  Charming,  for  the  sake  of 
this  great  principality  that  sits  so  heavy  on  your 
conscience,  open  it  and  read  !  " 

"Am  I  to  understand,"'  inquired  the  princess, 
"  that  this  letter  in  any  way  regards  me  ?  " 

"You  see  I  have  not  opened  it,"  replied  Von 
Rosen  ;  "but  'tis  mine,  and  I  beg  you  to  experi- 
ment." 


PRINXE    OTTO.  205 

"  I  cannot  look  at  it  till  you  have,"  returned 
Seraphina  very  seriously.  ' '  There  may  be  matter 
there  not  fit  for  me  to  see  ;  it  is  a  private  letter." 

The  countess  tore  it  open,  glanced  it  through, 
and  tossed  it  back  ;  and  the  princess,  taking  up 
the  sheet,  recognized  the  hand  of  Gondremark 
and  read  with  a  sickening  shock  the  following 
lines  : 

"  Dearest  Anna,  come  at  once.  Ratafia  has 
done  the  deed,  her  husband  to  be  packed  to  prison. 
This  puts  the  minx  entirely  in  my  power  ;  le  tour 
estjoue  ;  she  will  now  go  steady  in  harness  or  I 
will  know  the  reason  why.     Come. 

"  Heinrich.  " 

"  Command  yourself,  madame, "  said  the  count- 
ess, watching  with  some  alarm  the  white  face  of 
Seraphina.  "  It  is  in  vain  for  you  to  fight  with 
Gondremark  :  he  has  more  strings  than  mere  court 
favor,  and  could  bring  you  down  to-morrow  with 
a  word.  I  would  not  have  betrayed  him  other- 
wise ;  but  Heinrich  is  a  man,  and  plays  with  all 
of  you  like  marionettes.  And  now  at  least  you 
see  for  what  you  sacrificed  my  prince.  IMadame, 
will  you  take  some  wine  '^     I  have  been  cruel." 

"  Not  cruel,  madame — salutary,"  said  Seraphina, 
with  a  phantom  smile.  "No,  I  thank  you,  I  re- 
quire no  attentions.  The  first  surprise  affected 
me  ;  will  you  give  me  time  a  little .-"  I  must 
think." 


2o6  PRINCE   OTTO. 

She  took  her  head  in  both  her  hands,  and 
contemplated  for  a  while  the  hurricane  confusion 
of  her  thoughts. 

"This  information  reaches  me,"  she  said, 
"when  I  have  need  of  it.  I  would  not  do  as  you 
have  done,  but  yet  I  thank  you.  I  have  been 
much  deceived  in  Baron  Gondremark. " 

"Oh  madame,  leave  Gondremark  and  think 
upon  the  prince  !  "  cried  Von  Rosen. 

"  You  speak  once  more  as  a  private  person," 
said  the  princess;  "nor  do  I  blame  you.  But 
my  own  thoughts  are  more  distracted.  However, 
as  I  believe  you  are  truly  a  friend  to  my — to  the 
— as  I  believe,"  she  said,  "you  are  a  friend  to 
Otto,  I  shall  put  the  order  for  his  release  into  your 
hands  this  moment.  Give  me  the  ink-dish. 
There  !  "  And  she  wrote  hastily,  steadying  her 
arm  upon  the  table,  for  she  trembled  like  a  reed. 
"Remember,  madame,"  she  resumed,  handing 
her  the  order,  "  this  must  not  be  used  nor  spoken 
of  at  present  ;  till  1  have  seen  the  baron,  I  per- 
ceive that  any  hurried  step — I  lose  myself  in 
thinking.     The  suddenness  has  shaken  me." 

"I  promise  you  I  will  not  use  it,"  said  the 
countess,  "till  you  give  me  leave.  Although  I 
wish  the  prince  could  be  informed  of  it,  to  com- 
fort his  poor  heart.  And  (jh,  I  had  forgotten,  he 
has  left  a  letter.  Suffer  mc,  madame  ;  I  will 
bring  it  you.  This  is  the  door  I  think  ? "  And 
she  sought  to  open  it. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  207 

"The  bolt  is  pushed,"  said  Seraphina  flushing. 

"Oh  !  oh  !  "  cried  the  countess. 

A  silence  fell  between  them. 

"  I  will  get  it  for  myself,"'  said  Seraphina,  "and 
in  the  meanwhile  I  beg  of  you  to  leave  me.  I 
thank  you,  I  am  sure,  but  I  will  be  obliged  if  you 
will  leave  me." 

The  countess  deeply  courtesied  and  withdrew. 


208  PRINCE  OTTO. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RELATES  THE  CAUSE  AND  OUTBREAK  OF  THE  REVO- 
LUTION. 

Brave  as  she  was,  and  brave  by  intellect,  the 
princess,  when  first  she  was  alone,  clung  to  the 
table  for  support.  The  four  corners  of  her  uni- 
verse had  fallen.  She  had  never  liked  nor  trusted 
Gondremark  completely ;  she  had  still  held  it 
possible  to  find  him  false  to  friendship  ;  but  from 
that  to  finding  him  devoid  of  all  those  public 
virtues  for  which  she  had  honored  him,  a  mere 
commonplace  intriguer,  using  her  for  his  own 
ends,  the  step  was  wide  and  the  descent  giddy. 
LhA\i  and  darkness  succeeded  each. other  in  her 
brain  ;  now  she  believed,  and  now  she  could 
not.  She  turned,  blindly  groping  for  the  note. 
But  \'on  Rosen,  who  had  not  forgotten  to  take 
the  warrant  from  the  prince,  had  remembered  to 
recover  her  note  from  the  princess  :  Von  Rosen 
was  an  old  campaigner,  whose  most  violent  emo- 
tion aroused  rather  than  clouded  the  vigor  of  her 
reason. 

The  thought  recalled  to  Seraphina  the  remem- 
brance of  the  other  letter — Otto's.  She  rose  and 
went    speedily,    her    brain    still    wheeling,    and 


PRINCE   OTTO.  209 

burst  into  the  prince's  armory.  The  old  cham- 
berlain was  there  in  waiting  ;  and  the  sight  of 
another  face,  prying  (or  so  she  felt)  on  her  dis- 
tress, struck  Seraphina  into  childish  anger. 

"  Go  !  "  she  cried  ;  and  then,  when  the  old  man 
was  already  half  way  to  the  door,  "Stay!"  she 
added.  "As  soon  as  Baron  Gondremark arrives, 
let  him  attend  me  here. " 

"It  shall  be  so  directed,"  said  the  chamber- 
lain. 

"There  was  a  letter — "  she  began,  and  paused. 

"Her  highness,"  said  the  chamberlain,  "will 
find  a  letter  on  the  table.  I  had  received  no 
orders,  or  her  highness  had  been  spared  this 
trouble. " 

"No,  no,  no,"  she  cried.  "I  thank  you.  I 
desire  to  be  alone." 

And  then,  when  he  was  gone,  she  leaped  upon 
the  letter.  Her  mind  was  still  obscured  ;  like  the 
moon  upon  a  night  of  clouds  and  wind,  her 
reason  shone  and  darkened,  and  she  read  the 
words  by  flashes. 

"Seraphina,"  the  prince  wrote,  "  I  will  write 
no  syllable  of  reproach.  I  have  seen  your  order 
and  I  go.  What  else  is  left  me.''  I  have  wasted 
my  love  and  have  no  more.  To  say  that  I  for- 
give you  is  not  needful  ;  at  least,  we  are  now 
separate  forever  ;  by  your  own  act,  you  free  me 
from  my  willing  bondage  ;  I  go  free  to  prison. 
14 


2IO  PRINCE   OTTO. 

This  is  the  last  that  you  will  hear  of  me  in  love 
or  anger.  I  have  gone  out  of  your  life  ;  you 
may  breathe  easy  ;  you  have  now  rid  yourself  of 
the  husband  who  allowed  you  to  desert  him,  of 
the  prince  who  gave  you  his  rights,  and  of  the 
married  lover  who  made  it  his  pride  to  defend 
you  in  your  absence.  How  you  have  requited 
him,  your  own  heart  more  loudly  tells  you  than 
my  words.  There  is  a  day  coming  when  your 
vain  dreams  will  roll  away  like  clouds,  and  you 
will  find  yourself  alone.  Then  you  will  re- 
member 

"Otto." 

She  read  with  a  great  horror  on  her  mind  :  that 
day,  of  which  he  wrote,  was  come.  She  was 
alone  ;  she  had  been  false,  she  had  been  cruel ; 
remorse  rolled  in  upon  her  ;  and  then  with  a 
more  piercing  note,  vanity,  bounded  on  the 
stage  of  consciousness.  She  a  dupe  !  she  help- 
less !  she  to  have  betrayed  herself  in  seeking  to 
betray  her  husband !  she  to  have  lived  these  years 
upon  flattery,  grossly  swallowing  the  bolus,  like 
a  clown  with  sharpers!  she— Seraphina !  Her 
swift  mind  drank  the  consequences  ;  she  foresaw 
the  coming  fall,  her  public  shame  ;  she  saw  the 
odium,  disgrace,  and  folly  of  her  story  flaunt 
through  Europe.  She  recalled  the  scandal  she 
had  so  royally  braved  ;  and  alas  !  how  differently 
in  that  hour  it    scowled  upon    her  !      She  to  be 


PRINCE   OTTO.  211 

thought  the  mistress  of  that  man  :  perhaps  for 
that.  She  closed  her  eyes  on  agonizing  vistas. 
Swift  as  thought  she  was  beside  the  wall,  a 
dagger  glittering  in  her  hand.  Ay,  she  would 
escape.  From  that  world-wide  theatre  of  nodding 
heads  and  buzzing  whisperers,  in  which  she  now 
beheld  herself  unpitiably  martyred,  one  door 
stood  open.  At  any  cost,  through  any  stress  oi 
suffering,  that  greasy  laughter  should  be  stifled. 
She  closed  her  eyes  ;  she  breathed  a  word- 
less prayer,  and  pressed  the  weapon  to  hei 
bosom. 

At  the  surprising  sharpness  of  the  prick,  she 
gave  a  cry  and  awoke  to  the  sense  of  a  miracu- 
lous escape.  A  little  ruby  spot  of  blood  was  the 
reward  of  that  great  act  of  desperation  ;  but  th& 
pain  had  braced  her  like  a  tonic,  and  her  whole 
design  of  suicide  had  passed  away. 

At  the  same  instant,  regular  feet  drew  near 
along  the  gallery,  and  she  knew  the  tread  of  the 
big  baron,  so  often  gladly  welcome,  and  even 
now  rallying  her  spirits  like  a  call  to  battle.  She 
concealed  the  dagger  in  the  folds  of  her  skirt ; 
and  drawing  her  stature  up,  she  stood  firm-footed, 
radiant  with  anger,  waiting  for  the  foe. 

The  baron  was  announced  and  entered.  To 
him,  Seraphina  was  a  hated  task  ;  like  the  school- 
boy with  his  Virgil,  he  had  neither  will  nor  leisure 
to  remark  her  beauties  :  but  when  he  now  beheld 
her  standing  illuminated  by  her  passion,  new  feel- 


2  12  TKINCE    OTTO. 

ings  flashed  upon  him,  a  frank  admiration,  a  brief 
sparkle  of  desire.  He  noted  both  with  joy  ;  they 
were  means.  "If  I  have  to  play  the  lover," 
thought  he,  for  that  was  his  constant  preoccupa- 
tion, "  I  believe  lean  put  soul  into  it."  Mean- 
while, with  his  usual  ponderous  grace,  he  bent 
before  the  lady. 

"  I  propose,"  she  said,  in  a  strange  voice,  not 
known  to  her  till  then,  "that  we  release  the 
prince  and  do  not  prosecute  the  war." 

"Ah,  madame,"  he  replied,  "'tis  as  I  knew  it 
would  be  !  Your  heart  I  knew  would  wound 
you,  Avhen  we  came  to  this  distasteful  but  most 
necessary  step.  Ah,  madame,  believe  me,  I  am 
not  unworthy  to  be  your  ally  ;  I  know  you  have 
qualities  to  which  I  am  a  stranger,  and  count 
them  the  best  weapons  in  the  armory  of  our  alli- 
ance. The  girl  is  the  queen — pity,  love,  tender- . 
ness,  laughter  ;  the  smile  that  can  reward.  I  can 
only  command  ;  I  am  the  frowner.  I3ut  you  ! 
And  you  have  the  fortitude  to  command  these 
comely  weaknesses,  to  tread  them  down  at  the 
appeal  of  reason.  How  often  have  I  not  admired 
it  even  to  yourself.  Ay,  even  to  yourself,"  he 
added  tenderly,  dwelling,  it  seemed,  in  memory  on 
hours  of  a  more  private  admiration.  "But  now, 
madame — " 

"But  now,  Herr  Gondremark,  the  time  for 
these  declarations  has  goneby,  "she  cried.  "Are 
you   true  to  me.''  arc  you    false.-'     Look    in   your 


PRINCE    OTTO.  213 

heart  and  answer,  it  is  your  heart  I  want  to 
know." 

"  It  has  come,"  thought  Gondremark.  "You, 
madame  !  "  he  cried,  starting  back — with  fear,  you 
would  have  said,  and  yet  a  timid  joy.  "You! 
yourself,  you  bid  me  look  into  my  heart.''  " 

"Do  you  suppose  I  fear?"  she  cried,  and 
looked  at  him  with  such  a  heightened  color,  such 
bright  eyes,  and  a  smile  of  so  abstruse  a  meaning, 
that  the  baron  cast  aside  his  latest  doubt. 

"Ah,  madame!"  he  cried,  plumping  on  his 
knees.  "  Seraphina  !  Do  you  permit  me?  have 
you  divined  my  secret .-'  It  is  true — I  put  my  life 
with  joy  into  your  power — I  love  you,  love  with 
ardor,  as  an  equal,  as  a  master,  as  a  brother-in- 
arms, as  an  adored,  desired,  sweet-hearted  woman. 
O,  Bride  !  "  he  cried,  waxing  dithyrambic,  "  bride 
of  my  reason  and  my  senses,  have  pity,  have  pity 
on  my  love  !  " 

She  heard  him  with  wonder,  rage,  and  then 
contempt.  His  very  words  offended  her  to  sick- 
ness ;  his  appearance,  as  he  groveled  bulkily  upon 
the  floor,  moved  her  to  such  laughter  as  we  laugh 
in  nightmares. 

"Oh,  shame  !"  she  cried.  "  Absurb  and  odi- 
ous !     What  would  the  countess  say  .'* " 

That  great  Baron  Gondremark,  the  excellent  pol- 
itician, remained  forsome  little  time  upon  his  knees 
in  a  frame  of  mind  which  perhaps  we  are  al- 
lowed to  pity.      His  vanity,  within  his  iron  bosom, 


214  TRINCE   OTTO. 

bled  ami  raved.  If  he  ccnild  have  blottea  all,  if 
he  could  have  withdrawn  part,  if  he  had  not 
called  her  bride — with  a  roaring-  in  his  ears,  he 
thus  regretfully  reviewed  his  declaration.  He  got 
to  his  feet  tottering  ;  and  then,  in  that  first  mo- 
ment when  a  dumb  agony  finds  a  vent  in  words, 
and  the  tongue  betrays  the  inmost  and  worst  of 
a  man,  he  permitted  himself  a  retort  which,  for 
six  weeks  to  follow,  he  was  to  repent  at  leisure. 

"Ah,"  said  he,  "the  coimtess.'*  Now  I  per- 
ceive the  reason  of  your  highness's  disorder." 

The  lackey-like  insolence  of  the  words  was 
driven  home  by  a  more  insolent  manner.  There 
fell  upon  Seraphina  one  of  those  storm-clouds 
which  had  already  blackened  upon  her  reason  ; 
she  heard  herself  cry  out  :  and  when  the  cloud 
dispersed,  flung  the  blood-stained  dagger  on  the 
floor,  and  saw  Gondremark  reeling  back  with  open 
mouth,  and  clapping  his  hand  upon  the  wound. 
The  next  moment,  with  oaths  which  she  had  never 
heard,  he  leaped  at  her  in  savage  passion ; 
clutched  her  as  she  recoiled;  and  in  the  very  act, 
stumbled  and  drooped.  She  had  scarce  time  to 
fear  his  murderous  onslaught,  ere  he  fell  befoje 
her  feet. 

He  rose  upon  one  elbow  ;  she  still  staring  upon 
him,  white  with  horror. 

"  Anna  !  "  he  cried,   "Anna  !  help  !  " 

And  then  his  utterance  failed  him,  and  he  fell 
back,  to  all  appearance  dead. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  215 

Seraphina  ran  to  and  fro  in  the  room  ;  she 
wrung  her  hands  and  cried  aloud  ;  within  she 
was  all  one  uproar  of  terror,  and  conscious  of  no 
articulate  wish  but  to  awake. 

There  came  a  knocking-  at  the  door  ;  and  she 
sprung  to  it  and  held  it,  panting  like  a  beast,  the 
strength  of  madness  in  her  arms,  till  she  had 
pushed  the  bolt.  At  this  success  a  certain  calm 
fell  upon  her  reason.  She  went  back  and  looked 
upon  her  victim,  the  knocking  growing  louder. 
Oh,  yes,  he  was  dead  !  She  had  killed  him.  He 
had  called  upon  Von  Rosen  with  his  latest  breath  ; 
ah,  who  would  call  on  Seraphina .'  She  had 
killed  him.  She,  whose  irresolute  hand  could 
scarce  prick  blood  from  her  own  bosom,  had 
found  strength  to  cast  down  that  great  colossus  at 
a  blow. 

All  this  while,  the  knocking  was  growing  more 
uproarious  and  more  unlike  the  staid  career  of  life 
in  such  a  palace.  Scandal  was  at  the  door,  with 
what  a  fatal  following  she  dreaded  to  conceive ; 
and  at  the  same  time  among  the  voices  that 
began  to  summon  her  by  name,  she  recognized 
the  chancellor's.  He  or  another,  somebody  must 
be  the  first. 

"Is  Herr  von  Greisengesang  without.''"  she 
called. 

"Your  highness — yes!"  the  old  gentleman 
answered.  ' '  We  have  heard  cries,  a  fall.  Is 
anything  amiss  ?  " 


2l6  PRINCE    OTTO. 

"Nothing-,"  replied  Seraphina.  "I  desire  to 
speak  with  you.  Send  off  the  rest."  She  panted 
between  each  phrase ;  but  her  mind  was  clear. 
She  let  the  loop  curtain  down  upon  both  sides 
before  she  drew  the  bolt  ;  and  thus  secure  from 
any  sudden  eyeshot  from  without,  admitted  the 
obsequious  chancellor  and  again  made  fast  the 
door. 

Greisengesang  clumsily  revolved  among  the 
wings  of  the  curtain  ;  so  that  she  was  clear  of  it 
as  soon  as  he. 

' '  My  God !  "  he  cried.     ' '  The  baron  !  " 

"I  have  killed  him,"  she  said.  "Oh,  killed 
him  !  " 

"Dear  me,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  "this  is 
most  unprecedented.  Lovers'  quarrels, "  he  added 
ruefully,  "  redintegratio — "  and  then  paused. 
"But,  my  dear  madamc,"  he  broke  out  agian, 
"  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  practical,  what  are  we 
to  do .''  This  is  exceedingly  grave  ;  morally, 
madame,  it  is  appalling.  I  take  the  liberty,  your 
highness,  for  one  moment,  of  addressing  you  as 
a  daughter,  a  loved  although  respected  daughter  ; 
and  I  must  say  that  I  cannot  conceal  from  you 
that  this  is  morally  most  questionable.  And,  oh 
dear  me,  we  have  a  dead  body  !  " 

She  had  watched  him  closely ;  hope  fell  to 
contempt ;  from  his  despicable  weakness,  she 
drew  away  her  skirts  and,  in  the  act,  found 
strength.      ' '  See  if  he  be  dead, "  she  said  ;  not  one 


PRINCE   OTTO.  217 

word  of  explanation  or  defense  ;  before  so  poor  a 
creature,  she  had  scorned  to  justify  herself  :  "  See 
if  he  be  dead/'  was  all. 

With  the  greatest  compunction,  the  chancellor 
drew  near  ;  and  as  he  did  so,  the  wounded  baron 
rolled  his  eyes. 

"  He  lives,"  cried  the  old  courtier,  turning  effu- 
sively to  Seraphina.      "Madame,  he  still  lives." 

"Help  him,  then, "returned  the  princess,  stand- 
ing fixed.      "Bind  up  his  wound." 

"Madame,  I  have  no  means,"  protested  the 
chancellor. 

"Can  you  not  take  your  handkerchief,  your 
neckcloth,  anything.?  "  she  cried;  and  at  the  same 
moment,  from  her  light  muslin  gown,  she  rent  off 
a  flounce  and  tossed  it  on  the  floor.  "Take 
that, "  she  said,  and  stood  upright  in  her  ruined 
finery. 

But  the  chancellor  held  up  his  hands  and  turned 
away  his  head  in  agony.  The  grasp  of  the  fall- 
ing baron  had  torn  down  the  dainty  fabric  of  the 
bodice  ;  and — "  Oh  highness  !  "  cried  Greisenge- 
sang  appalled,  "the  terrible  disorder  of  your 
toilet  !  ■' 

"Take  up  that  flounce,"  she  said,  "the  man 
may  die.  " 

Greisengesang  turned  in  a  flutter  to  the  baron, 
and  attempted  some  innocent  and  bungling  meas- 
ures. "  He  still  breathes, "he  kept  saying.  "All 
is  not  yet  over ;  he  is  not  yet  gone." 


21 8  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"And  now,"  said  she,  "if  that  is  all  that  you 
can  do,  begone  and  get  some  porters  ;  he  must 
instantly  go  home." 

"  Madame,"  cried  the  chancellor,  "  if  this  most 
melancholy  sight  were  seen  in  town — oh,  dear, 
the  State  would  fall  !  "  he  piped. 

"There  is  a  litter  in  the  palace,"  she  replied. 
"It  is  your  part  to  see  him  safe.  I  lay  com- 
mands upon  you.      On  your  life  it  stands." 

"  I  see  it,  dear  highness,"  he  jerked.  "Clearly 
I  see  it.  But  how  ?  what  men  ?  The  prince's 
servants — yes.  They  had  a  personal  affection. 
They  will  be  true,  if  any. " 

"Oh,  not  them!"  she  cried.  "Take  Sabra, 
my  own  man." 

"Sabra!  The  grand-mason!"  returned  the 
chancellor  aghast.  "If  he  but  saw  this,  he 
would  sound  the  tocsin — we  should  all  be  butch- 
ered. " 

She  measured  the  depth  of  her  abasement 
steadily.  "Take  whom  you  must,"  she  said, 
"  and  bring  the  litter  here." 

Once  she  was  alone,  she  ran  to  the  baron,  and 
■with  a  sickening  heart  sought  to  allay  the  flux  of 
blood.  The  touch  of  the  skin  of  that  great  char- 
latan revolted  her  to  the  toes  ;  the  wound  in  her 
ignorant  eyes  looked  deathly  ;  yet  she  contended 
with  her  shuddering,  and  with  more  skill  at  least 
than  the  chancellor's,  stanched  the  welling  injury. 
An  eye  unprejudiced  with  hate  would  have  ad- 


PRINCE   OTTO.  219 

mired  the  baron  in  his  swoon  ;  he  looked  so  great 
and  shapely  ;  it  was  so  powerful  a  machine  that 
lay  arrested  ;  and  his  features,  cleared  for  the 
moment  both  of  temper  and  dissimulation,  were 
seen  to  be  so  purely  modeled.  But  it  was  not 
thus  with  Seraphina.  Her  victim,  as  he  lay  out- 
spread, twitching  a  little,  his  big  chest  unbared 
fixed  her  with  his  ugliness ;  and  her  mind  flitted 
for  a  glimpse  to  Otto. 

Rumors  began  to  sound  about  the  palace  of 
feet  running  and  of  voices  raised  ;  the  echoes  of 
the  great  arched  staircase  were  voluble  of  some 
confusion  ;  and  then  the  gallery  jarred  with  a 
quick  and  heavy  tramp.  It  was  the  chancellor, 
followed  by  four  of  Otto's  valets  and  a  litter.  The 
servants,  when  they  were  admitted,  stared  at  the 
disheveled  princess  and  the  wounded  man  ; 
speech  was  denied  them,  but  their  thoughts  were 
riddled  with  profanity.  Gondremark  was  bun- 
dled in  ;  and  with  the  curtains  lowered,  the  four 
bearers  carried  forth  the  litter,  and  the  twittering 
chancellor  followed  with  a  white  face  behind. 

Seraphina  ran  to  the  window.  Pressing  her 
face  upon  the  pane  she  could  see  the  terrace, 
where  the  lights  contested  ;  thence  the  avenue 
of  lamps  that  joined  the  palace  and  town  ;  and 
overhead  the  hollow  night  and  the  larger  stars. 
Presently  the  small  procession  issued  from  the 
palace,  crossed  the  parade,  and  began  to  thread 
the  glittering  alley  :  the  swinging  couch  with  its 


220  RINCE   OTTO. 

four  porters,  the  much-pondering-  chancellor  be- 
hind. She  watched  them  dwindle  with  strange 
thoughts  :  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  scene,  her 
mind  still  glancing  right  and  left  on  the  over- 
throw of  her  life  and  hopes.  There  was  no  one 
left  in  whom  she  might  confide ;  none  whose 
hand  was  friendly,  or  on  \\'hom  she  dared  to 
reckon  for  the  barest  loyalty.  With  the  fall  of 
Gondremark,  her  party,  her  brief  popularity,  had 
fallen.  So  she  sat  crouched  upon  the  window- 
seat,  her  brow  to  the  cool  pane  ;  her  dress,  in 
tatters,  barely  shielding  her  ;  her  mind  revolving 
bitter  thoughts. 

]\Iean while  consequences  were  fast  mounting; 
and  in  the  deceptive  quiet  of  the  night,  downfall 
and  red  revolt  were  brewing.  The  litter  had 
passed  forth  between  the  iron  gates  and  entered 
on  the  streets  of  the  town.  By  what  flying 
panic,  by  what  thrill  of  air  communicated,  who 
shall  say  .^  but  the  passing  bustle  in  the  palace 
had  already  reached  and  re-echoed  in  the  region 
of  the  burghers.  Rumor,  with  her  loud  whisper, 
hissed  about  the  town  ;  men  left  their  homes 
without  knowing  why  ;  knots  formed  along  the 
boulevard  ;  under  the  rare  lamps  and  the  great 
limes  the  crowd  grew  blacker. 

And  now  through  the  midst  of  that  expectant 
company,  the  unusual  sight  of  a  closed  litter  was 
observed  approaching,  and  trotting  hard  behind  it 
that  great  dignitary,  Cancellarius  Greisengesang. 


PRINCE    OTTO.  221 

Silence  looked  on  it  as  it  went  by  ;  and  as  soon 
as  it  was  passed  the  whispering  seethed  over  like 
a  boiling  pot.  The  knots  were  sundered  ;  and 
gradually,  one  following  another,  the  whole  mob 
began  to  form  into  a  procession  and  escort  the 
curtained  litter.  Soon  spokesmen,  a  little  bolder 
than  their  mates,  began  to  ply  the  chancellor 
with  questions.  Never  had  he  more  need  of  that 
great  art  of  falsehood,  by  whose  exercise  he  had 
so  richly  lived.  And  yet  now  he  stumbled,  the 
master  passion,  fear,  betraying  him.  He  was 
pressed  ;  he  became  incoherent ;  and  then  from 
the  jolting  litter  came  a  groan.  In  the  instant 
hubbub  and  the  gathering  of  the  crowd  as  to  a 
natural  signal,  the  clear-eyed  quavering  chancel- 
lor heard  the  catch  of  the  clock  before  it  strikes 
the  hour  of  doom  ;  and  for  ten  seconds  he  forgot 
himself.  This  shall  atone  for  many  sins.  He 
plucked  a  bearer  by  the  sleeve.  "  Bid  the  prin- 
cess flee.  All  is  lost, "  he  whispered.  And  the 
next  moment  he  was  babbling  for  his  life  among 
the  multitude. 

Five  minutes  later,  the  wild-eyed  servant  burst 
into  the  armory.  "All  is  lost!  "  he  cried.  "The 
chancellor  bids  you  flee."  And  at  the  same 
time  looking  through  the  window,  Seraphina 
saw  the  black  rush  of  the  populace  begin  to  in- 
vade the  lamp-lit  avenue. 

"Thank     you,    Georg,"    she  said.      "I  thank 


222  PRINCE   OTTe). 

you.     Go."     And   as  the  man    still    lingered,  "I 
bid  you  go,"  she  added.      "  Save  yourself." 

Down  by  the  private  passage,  and  just  some 
two  hours  later,  Amalia  Seraphina,  the  last  prin- 
cess, followed  Otto  Johann  Friedrich,  the  last 
Prince  of  Grunewald. 


BOOK  III. 
FORTUNATE  MISFORTUNE. 


CHAPTER    I. 


PRINCESS     CINDERELLA. 


The  porter,  drawn  by  the  growing  turmoil,  had 
vanished  from  the  postern,  and  the  door  stood 
open  on  the  darkness  of  the  night.  As  Seraphina 
fled  up  the  terraces,  the  cries  and  loud  footing  of 
the  mob  drew  nearer  the  doomed  palace ;  the 
rush  was  like  the  rush  of  cavalry  ;  the  sound  of 
shattering  lamps  tingled  above  the  rest;  and 
overtowering  all,  she  heard  her  own  name  bandied 
among  the  shouters.  A  bugle  sounded  at  the 
door  of  the  guard-room  ;  one  gun  was  fired  ;  and 
then  with  the  yell  of  hundreds,  Mittwalden  Palace 
was  carried  at  a  rush. 

Sped  by  these  dire  sounds  and  voices,  the  prin- 
cess scaled  the  long  garden,  skimming  like  a  bird 
the  starlit  stairways  ;  crossed  the  park,  which  was 
in  that  place  narrow,  and  plunged  upon  the  further 
side  into  the  rude  shelter  of  the  forest.  So,  at  a 
bound,   she  left  the  discretion   and  the  cheerful 

223 


224  PRINCE   OTTO. 

lamps  of  palace  evenings  ;  ceased  utterly  to  be  a 
sovereign  lady  ;  and  falling  from  the  whole  height 
of  civilization,  ran  forth  into  the  woods,  a  ragged 
Cinderella. 

She  went  direct  before  her  through  an  open 
tract  of  the  forest,  full  of  brush  and  birches,  and 
where  the  starlight  guided  her  ;  and  beyond  that 
again,  must  thread  the  columned  blackness  of  a 
pine  grove,  joining  overhead  the  thatch  of  its  long 
branches.  At  that  hour,  the  place  was  breathless  ; 
a  horror  of  night  like  a  presence  occupied  that 
dungeon  of  the  wood  ;  and  she  went  groping, 
knocking  against  the  boles — her  ear,  between 
whiles,  strained  to  aching  and  yet  unrewarded. 

But  the  slope  of  the  ground  was  upward  and 
encouraged  her  ;  and  presently  she  issued  on  a 
rocky  hill  that  stood  forth  above  the  sea  of  forest. 
All  around  were  other  hill-tops,  big  and  little  ; 
sable  vales  of  forest  between  ;  overhead  the  open 
heaven  and  the  brilliancy  of  countless  stars  ;  and 
along  all  the  western  sky  the  dim  forms  of  mount- 
ains. The  glory  of  the  great  night  laid  hold 
upon  her  ;  her  eyes  shone  with  stars  ;  she  dipped 
her  sight  into  the  coolness  and  brightness  of  the 
sky,  as  she  might  have  dipped  her  wrist  into  a 
spring ;  and  her  heart,  at  that  ethereal  shock, 
began  to  move  more  soberly.  The  sun  that  sails 
overhead,  plowing  into  gold  the  fields  of  daylight 
azure  and  uttering  the  signal  to  man's  myriads, 
has   no   word   apart   for  man  the  individual  ;  and 


PRINCE   OTTO.  225 

the  moon,  like  a  violin,  only  praises  and  laments 
our  private  destiny.  The  stars  alone,  cheerful 
whisperers,  confer  quietly  with  each  of  us  like 
friends  ;  they  give  ear  to  our  sorrows  smilingly, 
like  wise  old  men,  rich  in  tolerance  and  counsel  ; 
and  by  their  double  scale,  so  small  to  the  eye,  so 
vast  to  the  imagination,  they  keep  before  the  mind 
the  double  character  of  man's  nature  and  fate. 

There  sat  the  princess,  beautifully  looking  upon 
beauty,  in  council  with  these  glad  advisers. 
Bright  like  pictures,  clear  like  a  voice  in  the 
porches  of  her  ear,  memory  re-enacted  the  tumult 
of  the  evening  :  the  countess  and  the  dancing 
fan  ;  the  big  baron  on  his  knees  ;  the  blood  on 
the  polished  floor  ;  the  knocking  ;  the  swing  of 
the  litter  down  the  avenue  of  lamps  ;  the 
messenger  ;  the  cries  of  the  charging  mob ;  and 
yet  all  were  far  away  and  phantasmal,  and  she 
was  still  healingly  conscious  of  the  peace  and 
glory  of  the  night.  She  looked  toward  Mittwalden  ; 
and  above  the  hill-top  which  already  hid  it  from 
her  view,  a  throbbing  redness  hinted  of  fire.  Bet- 
ter so  :  better  so,  that  she  should  fall  with  tragic 
greatness,  lit  by  a  blazing  palace  !  Of  pity  for 
Gondremark,  of  concern  for  Griinewald,  not  a 
trace  was  found  in  her  :  that  period  of  her  life 
was  closed  forever,  a  wrench  of  wounded  vanity 
alone  surviving.  She  had  but  one  clear  idea  :  to 
flee ;  and  another,  obscure  and  half  rejected, 
although  still  obeyed  :  to  flee  in  the  direction  of 
IS 


226  PRINCE   OTTO. 

the  Felsenburg.  Not  her  heart,  for  that  is  con- 
scious, but  her  whole  dumb  nature  warmed  and 
yearned  for  Otto.  She  had  a  duty  to  perform, 
she  must  free  him  :  sober  mind  said,  very  coldly  ; 
but  by  the  heat  that  mounted  in  her  bosom  and 
the  tears  that  pricked  her  eyeballs,  she  ran  to  him 
as  to  a  friend  and  protector. 

She  rose,  with  a  start  of  recollection,  and  plunged 
down  the  slope  into  the  covert.  The  woods 
received  her.  Once  more,  she  wandered  and 
hasted  in  a  blot,  uncheered,  un piloted.  Here 
and  there,  indeed,  through  rents  in  the  wood-roof, 
a  glimmer  attracted  her  ;  here  and  there,  a  tree 
stood  out  among  its  neighbors  by  some  force  of 
outline  ;  here  and  there,  a  brushing  among  the 
leaves,  a  notable  blackness,  a  dim  shine,  relieved, 
only  to  exaggerate,  the  solid  oppression  of  the 
nicht  and  silence.  And  between  whiles,  the 
unfeatured  darkness  would  redouble  and  the  whole 
ear  of  night  appear  to  be  gloating  on  her  steps. 
Now  she  would  stand  still,  and  the  silence  would 
grow  and  grow,  till  it  weighed  upon  her  breathing; 
and  then  she  would  address  herself  again  to  run, 
stumbling,  falling,  and  still  hurrying  the  more. 
And  presently  the  whole  wood  rocked  and  began 
to  run  along  with  her.  The  noise  of  her  own 
mad  passage  through  the  silence  spread  and 
echoed  and  filled  the  night  with  terror.  Panic 
hunted  her  :  panic  from  the  trees  reached  forth 
with  clutching  branches  ;  the  darkness  was  lit  up 


PRINCE   OTTO.  227 

and  peopled  with  strange  forms  and  faces.  She 
strangled  and  fled  before  her  fears.  And  yet  in 
the  last  fortress,  reason,  blown  upon  by  these 
gusts  of  terror,  still  shone  with  a  troubled  light. 
She  knew,  yet  could  not  act  upon  her  knowledge  ; 
she  knew  that  she  must  stop,  and  yet  she  still  ran. 

She  was  already  near  madness  when  she  broke 
suddenly  into  a  narrow  clearing.  At  the  same 
time,  the  din  grew  louder,  and  she  became  con- 
scious of  vague  forms  and  fields  of  whiteness. 
And  with  that  the  earth  gave  way  ;  she  fell  and 
found  her  feet  again  with  an  incredible  shock  to 
her  senses,  and  her  mind  was  swallowed  up. 

When  she  came  again  to  herself,  she  was  stand- 
ing to  the  mid-leg  in  an  icy  eddy  of  a  brook,  and 
leaning  with  one  hand  on  the  rock  from  which  it 
poured.  The  spray  had  wet  her  hair.  She  saw 
the  white  cascade,  the  stars  wavering  in  the  shaken 
pool,  foam  flitting,  and  high  overhead  the  tall 
pines  on  either  hand  serenely  drinking  starshine  ; 
and  in  the  sudden  quiet  of  her  spirit,  she  heard 
with  joy  the  firm  plunge  of  the  cataract  in  the 
pool.  She  scrambled  forth  dripping.  In  the  face 
of  her  proved  weakness,  to  adventure  again  upon 
the  horror  of  blackness  in  the  grove,  were  a  sui- 
cide of  life  or  reason.  But  here,  in  the  alley  of 
the  brook,  with  the  kind  stars  above  her,  and  the 
moon  presently  swimming  into  sight,  she  could 
await  the  coming  of  day  without  alarm. 

This  lane  of  pine-trees'  ran  very  rapidly  down 


228  PRINCE   OTTO. 

hill  and  wound  among  the  woods  ;  but  it  was  a 
wider  thoroughfare  than  the  brook  needed,  and 
here  and  there  were  httle  dimpHng  lawns  and 
coves  of  the  forest,  where  the  starshine  slumbered. 
Such  a  lawn  she  paced,  taking  patience  bravely  ; 
and  now  she  looked  up  the  hill  and  saw  the  brook 
coming  down  to  her  in  a  series  of  cascades  ;  and 
now  approached  the  margin,  where  it  welled 
among  the  rushes  silently  ;  and  now  gazed  at  the 
great  company  of  heaven  with  an  enduring- 
wonder.  The  early  evening  had  fallen  chill,  but 
the  night  was  now  temperate;  out  of  the  recesses 
of  the  wood  there  came  mild  airs  as  from  a  deep 
and  peaceful  respiration  ;  and  the  dew  was  heavy 
on  the  grass  and  the  tight-shut  daisies.  This  was 
the  girl's  first  night  under  the  naked  heaven  :  and 
now  that  her  fears  were  overpast  she  was  touched 
to  the  soul  by  its  serene  amenity  and  peace. 
Kindly  the  host  of  heaven  blinked  down  upon 
that  wandering  princess,  and  the  honest  brook  had 
no  words  but  to  encourage  her. 

At  last  she  began  to  be  aware  of  a  wonderful 
revolution  compared  to  which  the  fire  of  ]\litt- 
walden  Palace  was  but  the  crack  and  flash  of  a 
percussion-cap.  The  countenance  with  which  the 
pines  regarded  her  began  insensibly  to  change  ; 
the  grass  too,  short  as  it  was,  and  the  whole 
winding  staircase  of  the  brook  s  course,  began  to 
wear  a  solemn  freshness  of  appearance.  And  this 
slow  transfiguration  reached  her  heart,  and  played 


PRINCE    OTTO.  229 

upon  it,  and  transpierced  it  with  a  serious  thrill. 
She  looked  all  about  ;  the  whole  face  of  nature 
looked  black,  brimful  of  meaning,  finger  on  lip, 
leaking  its  glad  secret.  She  looked  up  ;  and  lo  ! 
heaven  was  almost  emptied  of  the  stars,  and  the 
last  lingers  were  fainting  in  the  blue.  "Oh,  "'she 
cried,  joy  catching  at  her  breath,  "it  is  the 
dawn  !  "' 

In  a  breath  she  passed  over  the  brook,  and  loop- 
ing up  her  skirts,  began  to  run  in  the  dim  alleys, 
on  the  carpet  of  the  moss  and  tassel  for  the 
nearest  rising  ground.  As  she  ran  her  ears  were 
aware  of  many  pipings,  more  beautiful  than 
music  ;  in  the  small  dish-shaped  houses,  in  the 
fork  of  giant  arms,  where  they  had  laiii  all  night, 
lover  by  lover,  warmly  pressed,  the  bright-eyed, 
big-hearted  singers  began  to  awaken  for  the  day. 
Her  heart  melted  and  flowed  forth  to  them  in 
kindness.  And  they,  from  their  small  and  high 
perches  in  the  clerestories  of  the  wood  cathedral, 
peered  sidelong  down  and  saw  with  wonder  that 
ragged  princess  flitting  below  them  on  the  moss. 

Soon  she  had  struggled  to  a  certain  hill-top,  and 
saw  far  before  her  the  silent  inflooding  of  the  day. 
Out  of  the  east  it  welled  and  whitened  ;  the  dark- 
ness trembled  into  light  ;  and  the  stars  were  ex- 
tinguished like  the  street-lamps  of  a  human  city. 
The  whiteness  brightened  into  silver,  the  silver 
warmed  into  gold,  the  gold  kindled  into  pure  and 
living:  f"^'"t3.      The   daA''  drew   its  first   lono-   breath, 


230  PRINCE   OTTO. 

steady  and  cliill ;  and  for  leagues  around  the  woods 
sighed  and  shivered.  And  then,  at  one  bound, 
the  sun  had  floated  up  ;  and  her  startled  eyes  re- 
ceived day's  first  arrow,  and  quailed  under  the 
buffet.  On  every  side  the  shadows  leaped  from 
their  ambush  and  fell  prone.  The  day  was  come, 
plain  and  garish.  Only  up  the  steep  and  solitary 
eastern  heaven,  the  sun,  victorious  over  his  com- 
petitors, continued  slowly  and  royally  to  mount. 

Seraphina  drooped   for  a   little,    leaning   on    a 
pine,  the  shrill  joy  of  the  woodlands  mocking  her. 
The  shelter  of  the  night,  the  thrilling  and  joyous 
changes  of  the  dawn,  were   over  ;  and  now,    in 
the  hot  eye  of  the  day,  she  turned  uneasily  and 
looked    sighingly    about    her.       Some    way    off, 
among  the  lower  woods,  a  pillar  of  smoke  was 
mounting    and    melting   in    the    gold   and   blue. 
There,    surely    enough,    were    human-folk,     the 
hearth-surrounders.      Man's  fingers   had  laid  the 
twigs  ;  it  was  man's  breath  that  had  quickened 
and  encouraged  the  baby  flames  ;  and  now,   as 
the  fire  caught,  it  played  ruddily  on  the  face  of  its 
creator.     At  the  thought  she  felt  a-cold,  and  little, 
and  lost  in  that  great  out-of-doors.     The  electric 
shock  of  the  young  sunbeams  and  the  unhuman 
beauty  of  the  woods  began  to  irk  and  daunt  her. 
The   covert  of  the  house,  the   decent   privacy   of 
rooms,  the  swept  and  regulated  fire,  all  that  de- 
notes or  beautifies  the  home  life  of  man,  began  to 
draw  her  as  with  cords.      The  pillar  of  smoke  was 


PRINCE    OTTO.  231 

now  risen  into  some  stream  of  moving  air ;  it 
began  to  lean  out  sideways  in  a  pennon  ;  and 
thereupon,  as  though  the  change  had  been  a  sum- 
mons, Seraphina  plunged  once  more  into  the 
labyrinth  of  the  wood. 

She  left  day  upon  the  high  ground.  In  the 
lower  groves,  there  still  lingered  the  blue  early 
twilight  and  the  seizing  freshness  of  the  dew. 
But  here  and  there,  above  this  field  of  shadow, 
the  head  of  a  great  outspread  pine  was  already 
glorious  with  day  ;  and  here  and  there,  through 
the  breaches  of  the  hills,  the  sunbeams  made  a 
great  and  luminous  entry.  Here  Seraphina  hast- 
ened along  forest  paths.  She  had  lost  sight  of 
the  pilot  smoke,  which  blew  another  way,  and 
conducted  herself  in  that  great  wilderness  by  the 
direction  of  the  sun  ;  but  presently  fresh  signs  be- 
spoke the  neighborhood  of  man;  felled  trunks, 
white  slivers  from  the  ax,  bundles  of  green 
boughs,  and  stacks  of  firewood.  These  guided 
her  forward,  until  she  came  forth  at  last  upon  the 
clearins:  Vv-hence  the  smoke  arose.  A  hut  stood 
in  the  clear  shadow,  hard  by  a  brook  which  made 
a  series  of  inconsiderable  falls  ;  and  on  the  thresh- 
old, the  princess  saw  a  sunburned  and  hard- 
featured  woodman,  standing  with  his  hands  be- 
hind his  back  and  gazing  skyward. 

She  went  to  him  directly  :  a  beautiful,  bright- 
eyed  and  haggard  vision  :  splendidly  arrayed  and 
pitifully  tattered  ;  the  diamond  ear-drops  still  glit- 


2^2  PRINCE   OTTO. 


tering-  in  her  ears  ;  and  with  the  niovcmcMit  of  lier 
coming,  one  small  breast  showing  and  hiding 
among  the  ragg-cd  covert  of  the  laces.  At  that 
ambiguous  hour,  and  coming  as  she  did  Irom  the 
great  silence  of  the  forest,  the  man  drew  back 
from  the  princess  as  from  something  elfin. 

"I  am  cold,"  she  said,  "  and  weary.  Let  me  rest 
beside  your  fire."  The  woodman  was  visibly 
commoved,  but  answered  nothing. 

"I  will  pay,"  she  said,  and  then  repented  of 
the  words,  catching  perhaps  a  spark  of  terror  from 
his  frightened  eyes.  But  as  usual,  her  courage 
rekindled  brighter  for  tlie  checks  she  put  him  from 
the  door  and  entered  ;  anil  lie  followed  her  in 
superstitious  wonder. 

Within,  the  hut  was  rough  and  dark  ;  but  on 
the  stone  that  served  as  hearth,  twigs  and  a  few 
dry  branches  burned  with  the  brisk  sounds  and 
all  the  variable  beauty  of  fire.  The  very  sight  of 
it  composed  her  ;  she  crouched  hard  by  on  the 
earth  floor  and  shivered  in  the  glow,  and  looked 
upon  the  eating  blaze  with  admiration.  The 
woodman  was  still  staring  at  his  guest  :  at  the 
wreck  of  the  rich  dress,  the  bare  arms,  the  be- 
draggled laces  and  the  gems.  He  found  no  word 
to  utter. 

"Give  me  food,"  she  said,  "  here,  by  the  fire." 

He  set  down  a  pitcher  of  coarse  wine,  bread, 
a  piece  of  cheese  and  a  handful  of  raw  onions. 
The  bread  was   hard    and   sour,   the  cheese  lilce 


PRINCE   OTTO.  233 

leather;  even  the  onion,  which  ranks  with  the 
truffle  and  the  peach  in  the  chief  place  of  honor  of 
earth's  fruits,  is  scarce  a  dish  for  princesses  when 
raw.  But  she  eat,  if  not  with  appetite,  with  cour- 
age :  and  when  she  had  eaten,  did  not  disdain  the 
pitcher.  In  all  her  life  before,  she  had  not  tasted 
of  gross  food  nor  drunk  after  another;  but  a  brave 
woman  far  more  readily  accepts  a  change  of  cir- 
cumstances than  the  bravest  man.  All  that  while, 
the  woodman  continued  to  observe  her  furtively, 
many  low  thoughts  of  fear  and  greed  contending 
in  his  eyes.  She  read  them  clearly,  and  she  knew 
she  must  be  gone. 

Presently  she  arose,  and  offered  him  a  florin. 

"  Will  that  repay  you  ?  "  she  asked. 

But  here  the  man  found  his  tongue.  "I  must 
have  more  than  that,"  said  he. 

"It  is  all  I  have  to  give  you,  "she  returned, 
and  passed  him  by  serenely. 

Yet  her  heart  trembled,  for  she  saw  his  hand 
stretched  forth  as  if  to  arrest  her,  and  his  unsteady 
eyes  wandering  to  his  ax.  A  beaten  path  led 
westward  from  the  clearing,  and  she  swiftly  fol- 
lowed it.  She  did  not  glance  behind  her.  But 
when  a  turning  of  the  path  concealed  her  from 
the  woodman's  eyes,  she  slipped  into  the  shelter 
of  the  trees  and  ran  till  she  deemed  herself  in 
safety. 

By  this  time  the  strong  sunshine  pierced  in  a 
thousand  places  the  pinp-tlir.t  :'i  '■■:  l'-.'^  f  •"-  -:    f.-rd 


234  PRINCE   OTTO. 

the  red  boles,  irradiated  the  cool  aisles  of  shadow, 
and  burned  in  jewels  on  the  grass.  The  gum  of 
these  trees  was  dearer  to  the  senses  than  the  gums 
ofAraby;  each  pine,  in  the  lusty  morning  sun- 
light, burned  its  own  wood-incense  ;  and  now  and 
then  a  breeze  would  rise  and  toss  these  rooted  cen- 
sers, and  send  shade  and  sun-gem  flitting,  swift 
as  swallows,  thick  as  bees  ;  and  wake  a  brushing 
bustle  of  sounds  that  mumured  and  went  by. 

On  she  passed,  and  up  and  down,  in  sun  and 
shadow  ;  now  aloft  on  the  bare  ridge  among  the 
rocks  and  birches,  with  the  lizards  and  the  snakes  ; 
and  anon  in  the  deep  grove  among  sunless  pillars. 
Now  she  followed  wandering  wood-paths,  in  the 
maze  of  valleys  ;  and  again,  from  a  hill-top,  be- 
held the  distant  mountains  and  the  great  birds 
circling  under  the  sky.  She  would  see  afar  off  a 
nestling  hamlet,  and  go  round  to  avoid  it.  Be- 
low, she  traced  the  course  of  the  foam  of  mount- 
ain torrents;  but  where  she*  wandered,  only 
tender  springs  welled  up  in  silence,  or  oozed  in 
green  moss  ;  or  in  the  more  favored  hollows,  a 
whole  family  of  infant  rivers  would  combine,  and 
tinkle  in  the  stones,  and  lie  in  pools  to  be  a  bath- 
ing-place for  sparrows,  or  fall  from  the  sheer  rock 
in  rods  of  crystal.  Upon  all  these  things,  as  she 
still  sped  along  in  the  bright  air,  she  looked  with 
a  rapture  of  surprise  and  a  joyful  fainting  of  the 
heart ;  they  seemed  so  novel,  they  touched  so 
strangely  home,  they  were  so  hued  and  scented, 


PRINCE   OTTO.  235 

iney  were  so  beset  and  canopied  by  the  dome  of 
the  blue  air  of  heaven. 

At  length,  when  she  was  well  weary,  she  came 
upon  a  wide  and  shallow  pool.  Stones  stood  in  it, 
like  islands ;  bulrushes  fringed  the  coast ;  the 
floor  was  paved  with  the  pine  needles  ;  and  the 
pines  themselves,  whose  roots  made  promon- 
tories, looked  down  silently  on  their  green  images. 
She  crept  to  the  margin  and  beheld  herself  with 
wonder,  a  hollow  and  bright-eyed  phantom,  in 
the  ruins  of  her  palace  robe.  The  breeze  now 
shook  her  image  ;  now  it  would  be  marred  with 
flies  ;  and  at  that  she  smiled  ;  and  from  the  fading 
circles,  her  counterpart  smiled  back  to  her  and 
looked  kind.  She  sat  long  in  the  warm  sun,  and 
pitied  her  bare  arms  that  were  all  bruised  and 
marred  with  falling,  and  marveled  to  see  that  she 
was  dirty,  and  could  not  grow  to  believe  that  she 
had  gone  so  long  in  such  a  strange  disorder. 

Then,  with  a  sigh,  she  addressed  herself  to 
make  a  toilet  by  that  forest  mirror,  washed  her- 
self pure  from  all  the  stains  of  her  adventure,  took 
off  her  jewels  and  wrapped  them  in  her  handker- 
chief, rearranged  the  tatters  of  her  dress,  and 
took  down  the  folds  of  her  hair.  She  shook  it 
round  her  face,  and  the  pool  repeated  her  thus 
veiled.  Her  hair  had  smelled  like  violets,  she 
remembered  Otto  saying ;  and  so  now  she  tried 
to  smell  it,  and  then  shookher  head,  and  laughed 
a    little  sadly  to  herself. 


236  PRINCE   OTTO. 

The  lau^i^li  was  returned  upon  licr  in  a  childish 
echo.  She  looked  u\i  ;  antl  lo  !  two  children 
looking-  on,  a  small  g-irl  and  a  yet  smaller  boy, 
standini^,  like  playthings,  by  the  pool,  below  a 
spreading  pine.  Seraphina  was  not  fond  of  chil- 
dren, and  now   she  was  startled  to  the  heart. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  she  cried,  hoarsely. 

The  mites  huddled  together  and  drew  back  ; 
and  Seraphina's  heart  reproached  her  that  she 
should  have  frightened  things  so  quaint  and  little, 
and  yet  alive  with  senses.  She  thought  upon  the 
birds  and  looked  again  at  her  two  visitors  :  so 
little  larger  and  so  far  more  innocent.  On  their 
clear  faces,  as  in  a  pool,  she  saw  the  reflection  of 
their  fears.     With  gracious  purpose,  she  arose. 

"Come,"  she  said,  "do  not  be  afraid  of  me,'" 
and  took  a  step  toward  them. 

But  alas  !  at  the  first  movement,  the  two  poor 
babes  in  the  wood  turned  and  ran  helter-skelter 
from  the  princess. 

The  most  desolate  pang  was  struck  into  the 
girl's  heart.  Here  she  was,  twenty-one — soon 
twenty-two — and  not  a  creature  loved  her  ;  none 
but  Otto  ;  and  would  even  he  forgive  ?  If  she 
began  weeping  in  these  woods  alone,  it  would 
mean  death  or  madness.  Hastily  she  trod  the 
thoughts  out  like  a  burning  paper  ;  hastily  rolled 
up  her  locks,  and  with  terror  dogging  her,  and  her 
whole  bosom  sick  with  grief,  resumed  her  jour- 
ney. 


PRIN'CE   OTTO.  '237 

Past  ten  in  the  forenoon  she  struck  a  hig:h-road, 
marching  in  that  place  uphill  between  two  stately 
groves,  a  river  of  sunlight  ;  and  here,  dead  weary, 
careless  of  consequences,  and  taking  some  cour- 
age from  the  human  and  civilized  neighborhood 
of  the  road,  she  stretched  herself  on  the  green 
margin  in  the  shadow  of  a  tree.  Sleep  closed  on 
her,  at  first  with  a  horror  of  fainting,  but  when 
she  ceased  to  struggle,  kindly  embracing  her. 
So  she  was  taken  home  for  a  little,  from  all  her 
toils  and  sorrows,  to  her  father's  arms.  And  there 
in  the  meanwhile  her  body  lay  exposed  by  the 
highway-side,  in  tattered  finery  ;  and  on  either 
hand  from  the  woods,  the  birds  came  flying  by 
and  calling  upon  others,  and  debated  in  their 
own  tongue  this  strange  appearance. 

The  sun  pursued  his  journey ;  the  shadow 
flitted  from  her  feet,  shrunk  higher  and  higher  and 
was  upon  the  point  of  leaving  her  altogether, 
when  the  rumble  of  a  coach  was  signaled  to  and 
fro  by  the  birds.  The  road  in  that  part  was  very 
steep  ;  the  rumble  grew  near  with  great  delibera- 
tion ;  and  ten  minutes  passed  before  a  gentleman 
appeared,  walking  with  a  sober  elderly  gait  upon 
the  grassy  margin  of  the  highway  and  looking 
pleasantly  around  him  as  he  walked.  From  time 
to  time  he  paused,  took  out  his  note-book  and 
made  an  entry  with  a  pencil ;  and  any  spy  who 
had  been  near  enough,  would  have  heard  him 
mumbling  words  as  though  he  were  a  poet  test- 


238  PRINCE   OTTO. 

ini;  verses.  The  voice  of  the  wheels  were  still 
faint,  and  it  was  plain  the  traveler  had  far  out- 
stripped his  carriage. 

He  had  drawn  very  near  to  where  the  princess 
lay  asleep,  before  his  eye  alighted  on  her  ;  but 
when  it  did  he  started,  pocketed  his  note-book, 
anil  approached.  There  was  a  mile-stone  close 
to  where  she  lay  ;  and  he  sat  down  on  that  and 
coolly  studied  her.  She  lay  upon  one  side,  all 
curled  and  sunken,  her  brow  on  one  bare  arni,  the 
other  stretched  out,  limp  and  dimpled.  Her  young 
body,  like  a  thing  thrown  down,  hcfd  scarce  a 
mark  of  life.  Fler  breathing  stirred  her  not.  The 
deadliest  fatigue  was  thus  confessed  in  every 
language  of  the  sleeping  flesh.  The  traveler 
smiled  grimly.  As  though  he  had  looked  upon  a 
statue,  he  made  a  grudging  inventory  of  her 
charms  :  the  figure  in  that  touching  freedom  of 
forgetfulness  surprised  him  ;  the  flush  of  slumber 
became  her  like  a  flower. 

"Upon  my  word,"  bethought,  "  I  did  not  think 
the  girl  could  be  so  pretty.  And  to  think,"  he 
added,  "  that  I  am  under  obligation  not  to  use 
one  word  of  this  !  " 

He  put  forth  his  stick  and  toucheil  her;  and  at 
that  she  awoke,  sat  up  with  a  cry,  and  looked  upon 
him  wildly. 

"  I  trust  your  highness  has  slept  well,"  he  said 
nodding. 

But  she  only  uttered  sounds. 


PRINCE    UTTU.  239 

"Compose  yourself,"  said  he,  giving  her  cer- 
tainly a  brave  example  in  his  own  demeanor. 
••My  chaise  is  close  at  hand  ;  and  I  shall  have,  I 
trust,  the  singular  entertainment  of  abducting  a 
sovereign  princess." 

"  Sir  John  ?  "  she  said,  at  last. 
*'  At  your  highness's  disposal,"  he  replied. 

She  sprang  to  her  feet.  ' '  Oh, "  she  cried,  ' '  have 
you  come  from  ]Mitt\valden  ?  " 

"This  morning, "  he  returned,  "  I  left  it ;  and 
if  there  is  any  one  less  likely  to  return  to  it  than 
yourself,  behold  him  !  " 

"  The  baron — "  she  began,  and  paused. 

"Madame,"  he  answered,  "  it  was  well  meant, 
and  you  are  quite  a  Judith  ;  but  after  the  hours 
that  have  elapsed,  you  will  probably  be  relieved 
to  hear  that  he  is  fairly  well.  I  took  his  news  this 
morning  ere  I  left.  Doing  fairly  well,  they  said, 
but  suffering  acutely.  Hey  ? — acutely.  They 
could  hear  his  groans  in  the  next  room." 

"And  the  prince,"  she  asked,  "is  anything 
known  of  him  ?  " 

"  It  is  reported, "  replied  Sir  John,  with  the  same 
pleasurable  deliberation,  "that  upon  that  point 
your  highness  is  the  best  authority." 

"Sir  John,"  she  said  eagerly,  "you  were 
generous  enough  to  speak  about  your  carriage. 
Will  you,  I  beseech  you,  will  you  take  me  to  the 
Felsenburg  ?  I  have  business  there  of  an  extreme 
importance," 


240  PKIXCE    O'lTO. 

"I  can  refuse  you  nothing,"  replied  the  old 
gentleman,gravely  and  seriously  enough.  "  What- 
ever, madame.  it  is  in  my  power  to  do  for  you, 
that  shall  be  done  with  pleasure.  As  soon  as  my 
chaise  shall  overtake  us,  it  is  3'ours  to  carry  you 
where  you  will.  But,''  added  he,  reverting  to  his 
former  manner,  "I  observe  you  ask  me  nothing 
of  the  palace." 

"I  do  not  care,"  she  said.  "I  thought  I  saw 
it  burning." 

"  Prodigious,"  said  the  baronet.  "  You  thought  ? 
And  can  the  loss  of  forty  toilets  leave  you  cold  j* 
Well,  madame,  I  admire  your  fortitude.  And  the 
state,  too  .''  As  I  left,  the  government  was  sitting  ; 
the  new  government,  of  which  at  least  two  mem- 
bers must  be  known  to  you  byname  :  Sabra,  who 
had,  I  believe,  the  benefit  of  being  formed  in  your 
employment — a  footman,  am  T  right? — and  our 
old  friend,  tlie  cliancellor,  in  something  of  a 
subaltern  position.  But  in  these  convulsions  the 
last  shall  be  first  and  the  first  last." 

"Sir  John,"  she  said,  with  an  air  of  perfect 
honesty,  "  I  am  sure  you  mean  most  kindly,  but 
these  matters  liavc^  no  interest  for  me."' 

The  baron  was  so  utterly  discountenanced  that 
he  hailed  the  appearance  of  his  chaise  with  wel- 
come, and  by  way  of  saying  something,  proposed 
that  they  should  walk  back  to  meet  it.  So  it  was 
done ;  and  he  helped  her  in  with  courtesy, 
mounted  to  her  side,  and  from  various  receptacles 


PRINCE   OTTO.  241 

(for  the  chaise  was  most  completely  fitted  out) 
produced  fruits  and  truffled  liver,  beautiful  white 
bread  and  a  bottle  of  delicate  wine.  With  these 
he  served  her  like  a  father,  coaxing-  and  praising 
her  to  fresh  exertions  ;  and  during  all  that  time, 
as  though  silenced  by  the  laws  of  hospitality,  he 
was  not  guilty  of  the  shadow  of  a  sneer.  Indeed 
his  kindness  seemed  so  genuine  that  Seraphina 
was  moved  to  gratitude. 

"Sir  John,"  she  said,  "you  hate  me  in  your 
heart  ;  why  are  you  so  kind  to  me.''  " 

"  Ah,  my  good  lady, "  said  he,  with  no  disclaimer 
of  the  accusation,  "  I  have  the  honor  to  be  much 
your  husband's  friend,  and  somewhat  his  ad- 
mirer. " 

"You  !  "  she  cried.  "  They  told  me  you  wrote 
cruelly  of  both  of  us. " 

' '  Such  was  the  strange  path  by  which  we  grew 
acquainted,"  said  Sir  John.  ''  I  had  written, 
madame,  with  particular  cruelty  (since  that  shall 
be  the  phrase)  of  your  fair  self  Your  husband 
set  me  at  liberty,  gave  me  a  passport,  ordered  a 
carriage,  and  then,  with  the  most  boyish  spirit, 
challenged  me  to  fight.  Knowing  the  nature  of 
his  married  life  I  thought  the  dash  and  loyalty 
he  showed  delightful.  'Do  not  be  afraid,'  says 
he,  '  if  I  am  killed  there  is  nobody  to  miss  me.' 
It  appears  you  subsequently  thought  of  that  your- 
self. But  I  digress.  I  explained  to  him  it  was  im- 
possible that  I  could  fight  I  '  Not  if  I  strike  you  ?  ' 
16 


242  rklXCE    UTTU. 

says  he.  Very  droll ;  I  wish  I  could  have  put  it 
in  my  book.  However,  I  was  conquered,  took 
the  young-  gentleman  to  my  high  favor,  and  tore 
up  my  bits  of  scandal  on  the  spot.  That  is  one 
of  the  little  favors,  madame,  that  you  owe  your 
husband." 

Seraphina  sat  for  some  while  in  silence.  She 
could  bear  to  be  misjudged  without  a  pang  by 
those  whom  she  contemned ;  she  had  none  of 
Otto's  eagerness  to  be  approved,  but  went  her 
own  way  straight  and  head  in  air.  To  Sir  John, 
however,  after  what  he  had  said  and  as  her  hus- 
band's friend,  she  was  prepared  to  stoop. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  me  ?  "  she  asked 
abruptly. 

"  I  have  told  you  already,"  said  Sir  John  :  "I 
think  you  want  another  glass  of  my  good 
wine." 

"Come,"  she  said,  "  this  is  unlike  you.  You 
are  not  wont  to  be  afraid.  You  say  that  you  ad- 
mire my  husband  :   in  his  name,  be  honest.' 

"I  admire  your  courage,"  said  the  baronet. 
"  Beyond  that,  as  you  have  guessed  and  indeed 
said,  our  natures  are  not  sympathetic." 

"You  spoke  of  scandal,"  pursued  Seraphina. 
"  Was  the  scandal  great .''  " 

"  It  was  considerable,"  said  Sir  John. 

"  And  you  believed  it .'  "  she  demanded. 

"Oh,  madame,"  said  Sir  John,  "the  ques- 
tion !  '■ 


PRINXE   OTTO.  243 

"  Thank  you  for  that  answer  !  "  cried  Seraphina. 
"And  now  here,  I  will  tell  you  upon  my  honor, 
upon  my  soul,  in  spite  of  all  the  scandal  in  this 
world,  I  am  as  true  a  wife  as  ever  stood." 

'•We  should  probably  not  agree  upon  a  defini- 
tion," observed  Sir  John. 

"Oh!"  she  cried,  "I  have  abominably  used 
him — I  know  that  ;  it  is  not  that  I  mean.  But  if 
you  admire  my  husband,  I  insist  that  you  shall 
understand  me  :  I  can  look  him  in  the  face  with- 
out a  blush." 

"It  may  be,  madame,"  said  Sir  John,  "nor 
have  I  presumed  to  think  the  contrary. " 

"You  will  not  believe  me .'  "  she  cried.  "You 
think  I  am  a  guilty  wife  .'  You  think  he  was  my 
lover  ?  " 

"Madame,"  returned  the  baronet,  "when  I 
tore  up  my  papers  I  promised  your  good  husband 
to  concern  myself  no  more  with  your  affairs  ;  and 
I  assure  you  for  the  last  time  that  I  have  no  de- 
sire to  judge  you." 

"  But  you  will  not  acquit  me  !  Ah  !  "  she  cried, 
"  he  will — he  knows  me  better  !  " 

Sir  John  smiled. 

"  You  smile  at  my  distress  ?  "  asked  Seraphina. 

"At    your  woman's  coolness,"  said  Sir  John. 
"  A  man  would  scarce  have  had  the    courage  of 
that    cry,  which  was,  for   all    that,  very  natural, 
and  I  make  no  doubt    quite    true.      But   remark, 
madame — since  you  do  me  the  honor  to  consult 


244  PRINCE    OTTO. 

me  gravely — I  have  no  pity  for  what  you  call 
your  distresses.  You  have  been  completely  seltish, 
and  now  reap  the  consequence.  Had  you  once 
thought  of  your  husband  instead  of  singly  think- 
ing of  yourself,  you  would  not  now  have  been 
alone,  a  fugitive,  with  blood  upon  your  hands,  and 
hearing,  from  a  morose  old  Englishman,  truth 
more  bitter  than  scandal." 

"  I  thank  you,"  she  said  quivering.  "  This  is 
very  true.      Will  you  stop  the  carriage  ?  " 

"  No,  child,"  said  Sir  John,  "  not  until  I  see 
you  mistress  of  yourself." 

There  was  a  long  pause  during  which  the  car- 
riage rolled  by  rock  and  woodland. 

"  And  now,"  she  resumed,  with  perfect  stead- 
iness, "will  you  consider  me  composed .-'  I 
request  you,  as  a  gentleman,  to  let  me  out." 

"  I  think  you  do  unwisely,"  he  replied.  "Con- 
tinue, if  you  please,  to  use  my  carriage." 

"  Sir  John,"  she  said,  "  if  death  were  sitting  on 
that  pile  of  stones,  I  would  alight!  I  do  not 
blame,  I  thank  you  ;  I  now  know  how  I  appear 
to  others  ;  but  sooner  than  draw  breath  beside  a 
man  who  can  so  think  of  me,  I  w^ould — Oh  !  " 
she  cried,  and  was  silent. 

Sir  John  pulled  the  string,  alighted,  and  offered 
her  his  hand  ;  but  she  refused  the  help. 

The  road  had  now  issued  from  the  valleys  in 
which  it  had  been  winding,  and  come  to  that 
part  of  its  course  where  it  runs,   like  a  cornice, 


PRINCE  OTTO.  245 

along  the  brow  of  the  steep  northward  face  of 
Griinewald.  The  place  where  they  had  alighted 
was  at  a  salient  angle  ;  a  bold  rock  and  some 
wind-tortured  pine-trees  overhung  it  from  above  ; 
far  below  the  blue  plains  lay  forth  and  melted 
into  heaven  ;  and  before  them  the  road,  by  a 
succession  of  bold  zigzags,  was  seen  mounting 
to  where  a  tower  upon  a  tall  cliff  closed  the 
view. 

"There,"  said  the  baronet,  pointing  to  the 
tower,  "you  see  the  Felsenburg,  your  goal.  I 
wish  you  a  good  journey,  and  regret  I  cannot  be 
of  more  assistance. " 

He  mounted  to  his  place  and  gave  a  signal,  and 
the  carriage  rolled  away. 

Seraphina  stood  by  the  wayside,  gazing  before 
her  with  blind  eyes.  Sir  John  she  had  dismissed 
already  from  her  mind  :  she  hated  him,  that  was 
enough  ;  for  whatever  Seraphina  hated  or  con- 
temned fell  instantly  to  Lilliputian  smallness, 
and  was  thenceforward  steadily  ignored  in 
thought.  And  now  she  had  matter  for  concern 
indeed.  Her  interview  with  Otto,  which  she  had 
never  yet  forgiven  him,  began  to  appear  before 
her  in  a  very  different  light.  He  had  come  to 
her,  still  thrilling  under  recent  insult,  and  not  yet 
breathed  from  fighting  her  own  cause  ;  and  how 
that  knowledge  changed  the  value  of  his  words  ! 
Yes,  he  must  have  loved  her  ;  this  was  a  brave 
feeling — it  was  no    mere   weakness  of  the    will. 


246  PRINCE   OTTO. 

And  she,  was  she  incapable  of  love?  It  would 
appear  so  ;  and  she  swallowed  her  tears,  and 
yearned  to  see  Otto,  to  explain  all,  to  ask  pity 
upon  her  knees  for  her  transgressions,  and,  if  all 
else  were  now  beyond  the  reach  of  reparation,  to 
restore  at  least  the  liberty  of  which  she  had 
deprived  him. 

Swiftly  she  sped  along  the  highway  ;  and  as 
the  road  wound  out  and  in  about  the  bluffs  and 
gullies  of  the  mountain,  saw  and  lost  by  glimpses 
the  tall  tower  that  stood  before  and  above  her, 
purpled  by  the  mountain  air. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  247 


CHAPTER  II. 

TREATS    OF    A    CHRISTIAN    VIRTUE. 

When  Otto  mounted  to  his  rolling  prison,  he 
found  another  occupant  in  a  corner  of  the  front 
seat ;  but  as  this  person  hung  his  head  and  the 
brightness  of  the  carriage  lamps  shone  outward, 
the  prince  could  only  see  it  was  a  man.  The 
colonel  followed  his  prisoner  and  clapped  to  the 
door ;  and  at  that  the  four  horses  broke  immedi- 
ately into  a  swinging  trot. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  colonel,  after  some  little 
while  had  passed,  "  if  we  are  to  travel  in  silence, 
we  might  as  well  be  at  home.  I  appear  of  course 
in  an  invidious  character  ;  but  I  am  a  man  of 
taste,  fond  of  books  and  solidly  informing  talk, 
and  unfortunately  condemned  for  life  to  the 
guard-room.  Gentlemen,  this  is  my  chance  ; 
don't  spoil  it  for  me.  I  have  here  the  pick  of  the 
whole  court,  barring  lovely  woman  ;  I  have  a 
great  author  in  the  person  of  the  doctor — " 

"Gotthold!"  cried  Otto. 

"It  appears,"  said  the  doctor  bitterly,  "that 
we  must  go  together.  Your  highness  had  not 
calculated  upon  that." 


248  PRINCE  OTTO. 

"What  do  you  infer?  "    cried  Otto,  that  I  had 

you  arrested  ?  " 

"  The  inference  is  simple,"  said  the  doctor. 

"Colonel  Gordon,"  said  the  prince,  "oblige 
me  so  far,  and  set  me  right  with  Herr  von  Ho- 
henstockwitz. " 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  colonel,  "you  are  both 
arrested  on  the  same  warrant  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  Princess  Seraphina,  acting  regent,  coun- 
tersigned by  Prime  Minister  Freiherr  von  Gon- 
dremark,  and  dated  the  day  before  yesterday,  the 
twelfth.  I  reveal  to  you  the  secrets  of  the  prison 
house,"  he  added. 

"Otto,"  said  Gotthold,  "I  ask  you  to  pardon 
my  suspicions." 

"  Gotthold,"  said  the  prince,  "  I  am  not  sure  I 
can  grant  you  that." 

"Your  highness  is,  I  am  sure,  far  too  mag- 
nanimous to  hesitate,"  said  the  colonel.  "But 
allow  me  :  we  speak  at  home  in  my  religion  of 
the  means  of  grace  ;  and  I  now  propose  to  offer 
them."  So  saying,  the  colonel  lighted  a  bright 
lamp  which  he  attached  to  one  side  of  the  car- 
riage, and  from  bglow  the  front  seat  produced  a 
goodly  basket  adorned  with  the  long  necks  of 
bottles.  "  Tu  speni  reducis — how  does  it  go, 
doctor  }  "  he  asked,  gayly.  "  I  am  in  a  sense 
your  host  ;  and  I  am  sure  you  are  both  far  too 
considerate  of  my  embarrassing  position  to  refuse 
to  do  nie  honor.  Gentlemen,  I  drink  to  the 
prince  !  " 


PRINCE   OTTO.  249 

"Colonel,"  said  Otto,  "we  have  a  jovial  en- 
tertainer.     I  drink  to  Colonel  Gordon." 

Thereupon  all  three  took  their  wine  very 
pleasantly  ;  and  even  as  they  did  so,  the  carriage 
with  a  lurch  turned  into  the  high-road  and  began 
to  make  better  speed. 

All  was  bright  within  ;  the  wine  had  colored 
Gotthold  s  cheek  ;  dim  forms  of  forest  trees, 
dwindling  and  spinning,  scarves  of  the  starry 
sky,  now  wide  and  now  narrow,  raced  past  the 
windows  :  through  one  that  was  left  open  the 
air  of  the  woods  came  in  with  a  nocturnal  raci- 
ness  ;  and  the  roll  of  wheels  and  the  tune  of  the 
trotting  horses  sounded  merrily  on  the  ear. 
Toast  followed  toast  ;  glass  after  glass  was 
bowed  across  and  emptied  by  the  trio  ;  and  pres- 
ently there  began  to  fall  upon  them  a  luxurious 
spell,  under  the  influence  of  which  the  sound  of 
quiet,  confidential  laughter  interrupted  the  long 
intervals  of  meditative  silence. 

"Otto,"  said  Gotthold,  after  one  of  these  sea- 
sons of  quiet,  "  I  do  not  ask  you  to  forgive 
me.  Were  the  parts  reversed,  I  could  not  for- 
give you." 

"Well,"  said  Otto,  "it  is  a  phrase  we  use.  I 
do  forgive  you,  but  your  words  and  your  sus- 
picions rankle  ;  and  not  yours  alone.  It  is  idle, 
Colonel  Gordon,  in  view  of  the  order  you  are  car- 
rying out,  to  conceal  from  you  the  dissensions 
of  my  family  ;  they  have  gone   so  far   that    they 


250  PRINCE   OTTO. 

arc  now  public  property.  Well,  gentlemen,  can 
I  forgive  my  wife  ?  I  can,  of  course,  and  do  ;  but 
in  what  sense?  1  would  certainly  not  stoop  to 
any  revenge  ;  as  certainly  I  could  not  think  of 
her  but  as  one  changed  beyond  my  recognition. "' 

"Allow  me,"'  returned  the  colonel.  "You  will 
permit  me  to  hope  that  I  am  addressing  Chris- 
tians ?  We  are  all  conscious,  I  trust,  that  we  are 
miserable  sinners." 

"  I  disown  the  consciousness, "  said  Gotthold. 
"Warmed  with  this  good  fluid,  I  deny  your 
thesis." 

"  How,  sir.?  You  never  did  anything  wrong  ? 
and  I  heard  you  asking  pardon  but  this  moment, 
not  of  your  God,  sir,  but  of  a  common  fellow- 
worm  !  ''  the  colonel  cried. 

"I  own  you  have  me;  you  are  expert  in 
argument,  Herr  Oberst, "  said  the  doctor. 

"Begad,  sir,  I  am  proud  to  hear  you  say  so," 
said  the  colonel.  "I  was  well  grounded  indeed 
at  Aberdeen.  And  as  for  this  matter  of  forgive- 
ness, it  comes,  sir,  of  loose  views  and  (what  is  if 
anything  more  dangerous)  a  regular  life.  A 
sound  creed  and  a  bad  morality,  that's  the  root 
of  wisdom.  You  two  gentlemen  are  too  good 
to  be  forgiving." 

"The  paradox  is  somewhat  forced,"  said  Gott- 
hold. 

"Pardon  me,  colonel,"  said  the  prince;  "I 
readily  acquit  you  of  any   design   of  offense,  but 


PRINCE   OTTO.  251 

your  \\'ords  bite  like  satire.  Is  this  a  time,  do  you 
think,  when  I  can  wish  to  hear  myself  called 
good,  now  that  I  am  paying  the  penalty  (and  am 
willing  like  yourself  to  think  it  just),  of  my  pro- 
longed misconduct  ? " 

"Oh,  but  pardon  me!"  cried  the  colonel. 
"You  have  never  been  expelled  from  the  divinity 
hall;  you  have  never  been  broke.  I  was;  broke 
foi  a  neglect  of  military  duty.  To  tell  you  the 
open  truth,  your  highness,  I  was  the  worse  of 
drink;  it's  a  thing  I  never  do  now,"'  he  added, 
taking  out  his  glass.  "  But  a  man,  you  see,  who 
has  really  tasted  the  defects  of  his  own  charac- 
ter as  I  have,  and  has  come  to  regard  himself  as 
a  kind  of  blind  tee-totem  knocking  about  life, 
begins  to  learn  a  very  different  view  about  for- 
giveness. I  will  talk  of  not  forgiving  others,  sir, 
when  I  have  made  out  to  forgive  myself,  and 
not  before  ;  and  the  date  is  like  to  be  a  long 
one.  My  father,  the  Reverend  Alexander  Gor- 
don, was  a  good  man,  and  damned  hard  upon 
others.  I  am  what  they  call  a  bad  one,  and  that 
is  just  the  difference.  The  man  who  cannot  for- 
give any  mortal  thing  is  a  green  hand  in  life." 

"And  yet  1  have  heard  of  you,  colonel,  as  a 
duelist,"  said  Gotthold. 

"A  different  thing,  sir, "  replied  the  soldier. 
"Professional  etiquette.  And,  I  trust,  without  un- 
christian feeling." 

Presently  after  the    colonel    fell    into     a    deep 


252  PRINCE   OTTO. 

sleep  ;  and    his    companions    looked  upon    each 
other  smiling. 

"An  odd  fish,"  said  Gotthold. 

"And    a    stran<^e    guardian,"   said   the  prince. 
"  Yet  what  he  said  was  true." 

"  Rightly  looked  upon,'"  mused  Gotthold  "  it  is 
ourselves  that  we  cannot  forgive,  when  we  re- 
fuse forgiveness  to  our  friend.  Some  strand  of 
our  own  misdoing  is  involved  in  every  quarrel."' 

"  Are  there  not  offenses  that  disgrace  the  par- 
doner ?  "  asked  Otto.  "Are  there  not  bounds  of 
self-respect .'  " 

"Otto,"  said  Gotthold,  "  does  any  man  respect 
himself.?  "  To  this  poor  waif  of  a  soldier  of  fort- 
une, we  may  seem  respectable  gentlemen  ;  but 
to  ourselves,  what  arc  we,  unless  a  paste-board 
portico  and  a  deliquium  of  deadly  weaknesses 
within  ? " 

"I.'  yes,"  said  Otto;  "but  you,  Gotthold— 
you  with  your  interminable  industry,  your  keen 
mind,  your  books,  serving  mankind,  scorning 
pleasures  and  temptations  !  You  do  not  know 
how  I  envy  you." 

"Otto,"  said  the  doctor,  "in  one  word,  and  a 
little  one  to  say  :  I  am  a  secret  tippler.  Yes,  I 
drink  too  much.  The  habit  has  robbed  these 
very  books,  to  which  you  praise  my  devotion,  of 
the  merits  that  they  should  have  had.  It  has 
spoiled  my  temper.  When  I  spoke  to  you  tlvc 
other  day,  how  much  of  my  warmth  was    i,i  llic 


PRINCE   OTTO.  253 

cause  of  virtue  ?  how  much  was  the  fever  of 
last  night's  wine?  Ay,  as  my  poor  fellow-sot 
there  said,  and  as  I  vaingloriously  denied,  we 
are  all  miserable  sinners,  put  here  for  a  moment, 
knowing-  the  good,  choosing  the  evil,  standing 
naked  and  ashamed  in  the  eye  of  God." 

"  Is  it  so  ?  "  said  Otto.  "  Why,  then,  what  are 
we  ?     Are  the  very  best — " 

"There  is  no  best  in  man,"  said  Gotthold.  "  I 
am  not  better,  it  is  likely  I  am  not  worse,  than 
you  or  that  poor  sleeper.  I  was  a  sham,  and  now 
you  know  me  ;  that  is  all." 

"And  yet  it  has  not  changed  my  love," 
returned  Otto  softly.  "Our  misdeeds  do  not 
change  us.  Gotthold,  fill  your  glass.  Let  us 
drink  to  what  is  good  in  this  bad  business  ;  let  us 
drink  to  our  old  affection  ;  and  when  we  have 
done  so,  forgive  your  too  just  grounds  of  offense 
and  drink  with  me  to  my  wife,  whom  I  have  so 
misused,  who  has  so  misused  me,  and  whom  I 
have  left,  I  fear,  I  greatly  fear,  in  danger.  What 
matters  it  how  bad  we  are,  if  others  can  still  love 
us,  and  we  can  still  love  others  .''  " 

"Ay!"  replied  the  doctor.  "It  is  very  well 
said.  It  is  the  true  answer  to  the  pessimist,  and 
the  standing  miracle  of  mankind.  So  you  still 
love  me,  and  so  you  can  forgive  your  wife  ?  Why, 
then,  we  may  bid  con^ience  'down,  dog,' like 
an  ill-trained  puppy,  yapping  at  shadows.  Ay, 
love  is  the  solid. " 


254  rUIXCE    OTTO. 

The  pair  fell  into  silence,  the  doctor  tapping  on 
his  empty  glass. 

The  carriage  swung  forth  out  of  the  valleys  on 
that  open  balcony  of  high-road  that  runs  along 
the  front  of  Grunewald,  looking  down  on  Gerol- 
stein.  Far  below,  a  white  water-fall  was  shining 
to  the  stars  from  the  falling  skirts  of  forest,  and 
beyond  that,  the  night  stood  naked  above  the 
plain.  On  the  other  hand,  the  lamplight  skimmed 
the  face  of  the  precipices,  and  the  dwarf  pine-trees 
twinkled  with  all  their  needles,  and  were  gone 
again  into  the  wake.  The  granite  roadway  thun- 
dered under  wheels  and  hoofs,  and  at  times,  by 
reason  of  its  continual  winding.  Otto  could  see 
the  escort  on  the  other  side  of  a  ravine,  riding 
well  together  in  the  night.  Presently  the  Felsen- 
burg  came  plainly  in  view,  some  way  above  them, 
on  a  bold  projection  of  the  mountain,  and  plant- 
ing its  bulk  against  the  starry  sky. 

"See,  Gotthold,  "said  the  prince,  "  our  destina- 
tion." 

Gotthold  awoke  as  from  a  trance. 

"I  was  thinking,"  said  he,  "  if  there  is  danger, 
why  did  you  not  resist  ?  I  was  told  you  came  of 
your  free  will ;  but  should  you  not  be  there  to 
help  her  ?  " 

The  color  faded  from  the  prince's  checks. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  255 


CHAPTER  III. 

PROVIDENCE    VON    ROSEN. ACT     THE    LAST. — IN     WHICH 

SHE    GALLOPS    OFF. 

When  the  busy  countess  came  forth  from  her 
interview  with  Seraphina,  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  she  was  beginning-  to  be  terribly  afraid. 
She  paused  in  the  corridor  and  reckoned  up  her 
doings  with  an  eye  to  Gondremark.  The  fan  was 
in  requisition  in  an  instant  ;  but  her  disquiet  was 
beyond  the  reach  of  fanning.  "The  girl  has  lost 
her  head,"  she  thought;  and  then  dismally,  "  I 
have  gone  too  far."'  She  instantly  decided  on  se- 
cession. Now  the  Mons  Sacer  of  the  Frau  von 
Rosen  was  a  certain  rustic  villa  in  the  forest, 
called  by  her,  in  a  smart  attack  of  poesy,  Tan- 
nen-Zauber,  and  by  everybody  else  plain  Klein- 
brunn. 

Thither,  upon  the  thought,  she  furiously  drove, 
passing  Gondremark  at  the  entrance  to  the  palace 
avenue,  but  feigning  not  to  observe  him  ;  and  as 
Kleinbrunn  was  seven  good  miles  away  and  in 
the  bottom  of  a  narrow  dell,  she  passed  the  night 
without  any  rumor  of  the  outbreak  reaching  her, 
and  the  glow  of  the  conflagration  was  concealed 


256  PRINCE   OTTO. 

by  intervening  hills.  Frau  von  Rosen  did  not 
sleep  well  ;  she  was  seriously  uneasy  as  to  the 
results  of  her  delightful  evening,  and  saw  herself 
condemned  to  quite  a  lengthy  sojourn  in  her  des- 
erts and  a  long  defensive  correspondence,  ere 
she  could  venture  to  return  to  Gondrcmark.  On 
the  other  hand,  she  examined,  by  way  of  pas- 
time, the  deeds  she  had  received  from  Otto  ;  and 
even  here  saw  cause  for  disappointment.  In  these 
troublous  days  she  had  no  taste  for  landed  prop- 
erty, and  she  was  convinced  besides  that  Otto 
had  paid  dearer  than  the  farm  was  worth.  Lastly, 
the  order  for  the  prince's  release  fairly  burned  her 
meddling  fingers. 

All  things  considered,  the  next  day  beheld  an 
elegant  and  beautiful  lady  in  a  riding-habit  and  a 
flapping  hat  draw  bridle  at  the  gate  of  theFelsen- 
burg,  not  perhaps  with  any  clear  idea  of  her  pur- 
pose, but  with  her  usual  experimental  views  on 
life.  Governor  Gordon,  summoned  to  the  gate, 
welcomed  the  omnipotent  countess  with  his  most 
gallant  bearing,  though  it  was  wonderful  how  old 
he  looked  at  morning. 

"Ah,  governor,"  she  said,  "  we  have  surprises 
for  you,  sir,"  and  nodded  at  him  meaningly. 

"Eh,  madame,  leave  me  my  prisoners,"  he 
said  ;  "  and  if  you  will  but  join  the  band,  begad, 
I'll  be  content  for  life." 

"  Vou  would  S]K)il  ine,  would  you  not?"  she 
asked. 


I'KIXCE   OTTO.  257 

"I  would  try,  I  would  try,"  returned  the 
governor,  and  he  offered  her  his  arm. 

She  took  it,  picked  up  her  skirt,  and  drew  him 
close  to  her.  "  I  have  come  to  see  the  prince," 
she  said.  "Now,  infidel  !  on  business.  A  mes- 
sage from  that  stupid  Gondremark,  who  keeps 
me  running  like  a  courier.  Do  I  look  like  one, 
Herr  Gordon?''  And  she  planted  her  eyes  on 
him. 

"You  look  like  an  angel,  ma'am,"  returned  the 
governor,  witn  a  great  air  of  finished  gallantry. 

1  he  countess  laughed.  "An  angel  on  horse- 
back !  "  she  said.      "Quick  work  !  " 

"You  came,  you  saw,  you  conquered,"  flour- 
ished Gordon,  in  high  good  humor  with  his  own 
wit  and  grace.  "We  toasted  you,  madame,  in 
the  carriage,  in  an  excellent  good  glass  of  wine ; 
toasted  you  fathom  deep  ;  the  finest  woman  with, 
begad,  the  finest  eyes  in  Griinewald.  I  never 
saw  the  like  of  them  but  once  in  my  own  country 
when  I  was  a  young  fool  at  college  ;  Thomasina 
Haig,  her  name  was.  I  give  you  my  word  of 
honor,  she  was  as  like  you  as  two  peas." 

"And  so  you  were  merry  in  the  carriage  .-*" 
asked  the  countess,  gracefully  dissembling  a 
yawn. 

"We  were;  we  had  a  very  pleasant  conversa- 
tion ;  but  we  took  perhaps  a  glass  more  than  that 
fine  fellow  of  a   prince  has  been  accustomed  to," 
said  the  governor  ;    "and  I  observe  this  morning 
18 


258  PRINXE   OTTO. 

that  he  seems   a   httle  off  his  mettle.      We'll  g 
him    mellow    again    ere    bed-time.     This    is    his 
door. " 

"  Well,"  she  whispered,  "let  me  get  my  breath. 
No,  no;  wait.  Have  the  door  ready  to  open.' 
And  the  countess,  standing  like  one  inspired, 
shook  ovit  her  fine  voice  in  ' '  Lascia  ch'  io  pianga  ; '' 
and  when  she  had  reached  the  proper  point,  and 
lyrically  uttered  forth  her  sighings  after  liberty, 
the  door,  at  a  sign,  was  flung  wide  open,  and  she 
swam  into  the  princes  sight,  bright-cycd  and 
with  her  color  somewhat  freshened  by  the  exercise 
of  singing.  It  was  a  great,  dramatic  entrance, 
and  to  the  somewhat  doleful  prisoner  within,  the 
sight  was  sunshine. 

"Ah,  madame,"  he  cried,  running  to  her — "you 
here  !  " 

She  looked  meaningly  at  Gordon  ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  door  was  closed  she  fell  on  Otto's  neck. 
"To  see  you  here  !  "  she  moaned,  and  clung  to 
him. 

But  the  prince  stood  somewhat  stiffly  in  that 
enviable  situation  ;  and  the  countess  instantly 
recovered  from  her  outburst. 

' '  Poor  child, "  she  said,  ' '  poor  child  !  Sit  down 
beside  me  here,  and  tell  me  all  about  it.  My  heart 
really  bleeds  to  see  you.      How  does  time  go .-'  " 

"Madame,"  replied  the  prince,  sitting  down 
beside  her,  his  gallantry  recovered,  "the  tinu> 
will  now  go  all  too  quickly  till  you  lerivc,      But  I 


PRINCE   OTTO.  259 

must  ask  you  for  the  news.  I  have  most  bitterly 
condemned  myself  for  my  inertia  of  last  night. 
You  wisely  counseled  me  ;  it  was  my  duty  to 
resist.  You  wisely  and  nobly  counseled  me  ;  I 
have  since  thought  of  it  with  wonder.  You  have 
a  noble  heart." 

"Otto,"  she  said,  "spare  me.  Was  it  even 
right,  I  wonder.''  I  have  duties,  too,  you  poor 
child  ;  and  when  I  see  you  they  all  melt — all  my 
good  resolutions  fly  away." 

"And  mine  still  come  too  late/"  he  replied, 
sighing.  "Oh,  what  would  I  not  give  to  have 
resisted.?     What  would  I  not  give  for  freedom  ?  " 

' '  Well,  what  would  you  give  ?  "  she  asked  ;  and 
the  red  fan  was  spread  ;  only  her  eyes,  as  if  from 
over  battlements,  brightly  surveyed  him. 

"  1?  What  do  you  mean  ?  Madame,  you  have 
some  news  for  me,"  he  cried. 

"  Oh,  oh  !  "  said  madame,  dubiously. 

He  was  at  her  feet.  "Do  not  trifle  with  my 
hopes,"  he  pleaded.  "Tell  me,  dearest  Madame 
von  Rosen,  tell  me  !  You  cannot  be  cruel,  it  is 
not  in  your  nature.  Give  ?  I  can  give  nothing  ; 
I  have  nothing;  I  can  only  plead  in  mercy." 

"Child,"  she  said,  "do  not;  it  is  not  fair. 
Otto,  you  know  my  weakness.  Spare  me.  Be 
generous. " 

"Oh,  madame,"  he  said,  "it  is  for  you  to  be 
generous,  to  have  pity."  He  took  her  hand  and 
pressed  it ;  he  plied  her  with  caresses  and  appeals. 


26o  PRINCE    OTTO. 

The  countess  had  a  most  enjoyable  sham  siege, 
and  then  relented.  She  sprung  to  her  feet,  she 
tore  her  dress  open,  and,  all  warm  from  her 
bosom,  threw  the  order  on  the  floor. 

"There!  "she  cried.  "I  forced  it  from  her. 
Use  it,  and  I  am  ruined  !  "  And  she  turned  away 
as  if  to  veil  the  force  of  her  emotions. 

Otto  sprung  upon  the  paper,  read  it,  and  cried 
out  aloud.  ' '  Oh,  God  bless  her  !  "  he  said,  ' '  God 
bless  her."     And  he  kissed  the  writing. 

Von  Rosen  was  a  singularly  good-natured 
woman,  but  her  part  was  now  beyond  her. 
"  Ingrate  !  "  she  cried;  "  I  wrung  it  from  her,  I 
betrayed  my  trust  to  get  it,  and  'tis  her  you  thank. " 

"Can  you  blame  me.''"  said  the  prince.  "I 
love  her." 

"I  see  that,"  she  said.      "And  I  ?  " 

"You,  Madame  von  Rosen.?  You  are  my 
dearest,  my  kindest  and  most  generous  of  friends," 
he  said,  approaching  her.  "You  would  be  a  per- 
fect friend,  if  you  were  not  so  lovely.  You  have 
a  great  sense  of  humor,  you  cannot  be  uncon- 
scious of  your  charm,  and  you  amuse  yourself  at 
times  by  playing  on  my  weakness  ;  and  at  times 
I  can  take  pleasure  in  the  comedy.  But  not  to- 
day :  to-day  )'-()u  will  be  the  true,  the  serious,  the 
manly  friend,  and  you  will  suffer  me  to  forget  that 
you  are  lovely  and  that  I  am  weak.  Come,  dear 
countess,  let  me  to-day  repose  in  you  entirely." 

He  held  out  his  hand  smiling,  anil  she  took  it 


PRINCE   OTTO.  261 

frankly.  "I  vow  you  have  bewitched  me,'"  she 
said  ;  and  then  with  a  laugh,  "  I  break  my  staff  !  "' 
she  added  ;  "and  I  must  pay  you  my  best  com- 
pliment. You  made  a  difficult  speech.  You  are 
as  adroit,  dear  prince,  as  I  am — charming-."  And 
as  she  said  the  word  with  a  great  courtesy,  she 
justified  it. 

"  You  hardly  keep  the  bargain,  madame,  when 
you  make  yourself  so  beautiful,"  said  the  prince, 
bowing. 

"It  was  my  last  arrow,"  she  returned.  "  I  am 
disarmed.  Blank  cartridge,  O  nion  prince !  And 
now  I  tell  you,  if  you  choose  to  leave  this  prison, 
you  can,  and  I  am  ruined.     Choose  !  " 

"Madame  von  Rosen, 'replied  Otto,  "  I  choose, 
and  I  will  go.  My  duty  points  me,  duty  still 
neglected  by  this  Featherhead.  But  do  not  fear 
to  be  a  loser.  I  propose  instead  that  you  should 
take  me  with  you  a  bear,  in  chains,  to  Baron  Gon- 
dremark.  I  am  become  perfectly  unscrupulous  ; 
to  save  my  wife  I  will  do  all,  all  he  can  ask  or 
fancy.  He  shall  be  filled ;  were  he  huge  as 
leviathan  and  greedy  as  the  grave,  I  will  content 
him.  And  you,  the  fairy  of  our  pantomime,  shall 
have  the  credit. " 

"Done!"  she  cried.  "Admirable!  Prince 
Charming  no  longer — Prince  Sorcerer,  Prince 
Solon  !  Let  us  go  this  moment.  Stay,''  she  cried, 
pausing  ;  "I  beg,  dear  prince,  to  give  you  back 
these   deeds  :  'twas   you   who  liked    the    farm,   I 


262  PRINCE    OTTO. 

have  not  seen  it  ;  and  it  was  you  who  wished  to 
benetit  the  peeisants.  And,  besides,"  she  added, 
with  a  comical  change  of  tone,  "I  would  prefer 
the  ready  money." 

Both  laughed.  "Here  I  am,  once  more  a 
farmer,"  said  Otto,  accepting  the  papers,  "but 
overwhelmed  in  debt." 

The  countess  touched  a  bell,  and  the  governor 
once  more  appeared. 

"  Governor, "  she  said,  "I  am  going  to  elope 
with  his  highness.  The  result  of  our  talk  has 
been  a  thorough  understanding,  and  the  coup  d' 
eldi  is  over.      Here  is  the  order." 

Colonel  Gordon  adjusted  silver  spectacles  upon 
his  nose.  "Yes,"  he  said,  "  the  princess  :  very 
right.  But  the  warrant,  madame,  was  counter- 
signed." 

"  By  Heinrich  !  "  said  Von  Rosen.  "Well,  and 
here  I  am  to  represent  him.'' 

"  Well,  your  highness,"  resumed  the  soldier  of 
fortune,  "  I  must  congratulate  you  upon  my  loss. 
You  have  been  cut  out  by  beauty,  and  I  am  left 
lamenting.  The  doctor  still  remains  to  me  :  pro- 
bus,  doc/us,  lepidus,  jucundus  ;  a  man  of  books." 

"Ay,  there  is  nothing  about  poor  Gotthold," 
said  the  prince. 

"The  governor's"  consolation?  Would  you 
leave  him  bare  ?  "  asked  Von  Rosen. 

"And,  your  highness,"  resumed  Gordon,  "may 
I  trust  that,  in   the   course  of  this  temporary  ob- 


PRINXE   OTTO.  263 

scuration,  you  have  found  me  discharge  my  part 
with  suitable  respect  and,  I  may  add,  tact  ?  I 
adopted  purposely  a  cheerfulness  of  manner ; 
mirth,  it  appeared  to  me,  and  a  good  glass  of  wine, 
were  the  fit  alleviations." 

"Colonel,"  said  Otto,  holding  out  his  hand, 
"your  society  was  of  itself  enough.  I  do  not 
merely  thank  you  for  your  pleasant  spirits ;  I 
have  to  thank  you  besides  for  some  philosophy, 
of  which  I  stood  in  need  ;  I  trust  I  do  not  see  you 
for  the  last  time  ;  and  in  the  meanwhile  as  a 
memento  of  our  strange  acquaintance,  let  me 
offer  you  these  verses  on  which  I  was  but  now 
engaged.  I  am  so  little  of  a  poet,  and  was  so  ill 
inspired  by  prison  bars,  that  they  have  some  claim 
to  be  at  least  a  curiosity. " 

The  colonel's  countenance  lighted  as  he  took 
the  paper ;  the  silver  spectacles  were  hurriedly 
replaced.  "Ha!"  he  said,  "Alexandrines,  the 
tragic  meter.  I  shall  cherish  this,  your  highness, 
like  a  relic  ;  no  more  suitable  offering,  although  I 
say  it,  could  be  made.  '  Dieux  de  I'immense 
plaine  et  des  vastes  forets. '  Very  good, "  he  said, 
"very  good  indeed!  'Et  du  geolier  luimeme 
apprendre  des  legons.'     Most  handsome,  begad  !  " 

"Come,  governor,"  cried  the  countess,  "you 
can  read  his  poetry  when  we  are  gone.  Open 
your  grudging  portals." 

"I  ask  your  pardon,"  said  the  colonel.  "To 
a  man  of  my  character  and  tastes,  these  verses, 


264  PRINCE   OTTO. 

this  handsome  reference — most  moving,  I  assure 
you.      Can  I  offer  you  an  escort? 

"No,  no, "rephed  the  countess.  "We  go  in- 
cogniti,  as  we  arrived.  We  ride  together  ;  the 
prince  will  take  my  servant's  horse.  Hurry  and 
privacy,  Ilerr  Oberst,  that  is  all  we  seek."  And 
she  began  impatiently  to  lead  the  way. 

But  Otto  had  still  to  bid  farewell  to  Dr.  Gott- 
hold  ;  and  the  governor,  following  with  his 
spectacles  in  one  hand  and  the  paper  in  the  other, 
had  still  to  communicate  his  treasured  verses, 
piece  by  piece,  as  he  succeeded  in  deciphering 
the  manuscript,  to  all  he  came  across  ;  and  still 
his  enthusiasm  mounted.  "I  declare,"  he  cried 
at  last,  with  the  air  of  one  who  has  at  length 
divined  a  mystery,  "they  remind  me  of  Robbie 
Burns  I  " 

But  there  is  an  end  to  all  things  ;  and  at  length 
Otto  was  walking  by  the  side  of  Madame  von 
Rosen,  along  that  mountain  wall,  her  servant 
following  with  both  the  horses,  and  all  about 
them  sunlight  and  breeze,  and  flying  bird,  and 
the  vast  regions  of  the  air,  and  the  capacious 
prospect  :  wildwood  and  climbing  pinnacle,  and 
the  sound  and  voice  of  mountain  torrents  at  their 
hand  ;  and  far  below  green  melting  into  sapphire 
on  the  plains. 

They  walked  at  first  in  silence  ;  for  Otto's 
mind  was  full  of  the  delight  of  liberty  and  nature, 
and  still,  between  whilrs,    he   was  j)reparing  his 


PRINCE   OTTO.  265 

interview  with  Gondremark.  But  when  the  first 
rough  promontory  of  the  rock  was  turned,  and 
the  Felsenburg  concealed  behind  its  bulk,  the 
lady  paused. 

"  Here,"  she  said,  "  I  will  dismount  from  Karl, 
and  you  and  I  must  ply  our  spurs.  I  love  a  wild 
ride  with  a  good  companion. " 

As  she  spoke  a  carriage  came  into  sight  round 
the  corner  next  below  them  in  the  order  of  the 
road.  It  came  heavily  creaking,  and  a  little 
ahead  of  it,  a  traveler  was  soberly  walking, 
note-book  in  hand. 

"It  is  Sir  John,"  cried  Otto,  and  he  hailed  him. 

The  baronet  pocketed  his  note-book,  stared 
through  an  eyeglass,  and  then  waved  his  stick  ; 
and  he  on  his  side,  and  the  countess  and  the 
prince  on  theirs,  advanced  with  somewhat  quicker 
steps.  They  met  at  the  re-entrant  angle,  where  a 
thin  stream  sprayed  across  a  bowlder  and  was 
scattered  in  rain  among  the  brush  ;  and  the 
baronet  saluted  the  prince  with  much  punctilio. 
To  the  countess,  on  the  other  hand,  he  bowed 
with  a  kind  of  sneering  wonder. 

"Is  it  possible,  madame,  that  you  have  not 
heard  the  news  .'*  "  he  asked. 

"What  news  ?  "   she  cried. 

"  News  of  the  first  order,"'  returned  Sir  John, 
"a  revolution  in  the  state,  a  republic  declared, 
the  palace  burned  to  the  ground,  the  princess  in 
flitrht,  Gondremark  wounded — '' 


266  PRINCE   OTTO. 

"  Heinrich  wounded  ?  "   she  screameu. 

"Wounded  iind  suffering  acutely,"  said  Sir 
John.      "  His  groans — " 

There  fell  from  the  lady's  lips  an  oath  so  potent 
that,  in  smoother  hours,  it  would  liave  made  her 
hearers  jump.  She  ran  to  her  horse,  scrambled 
herself  into  the  saddle,  and,  yet  half  seated, 
flashed  at  full  gallop  down  the  road.  The  groom, 
after  a  pause  of  wonder,  followed  her.  The  rush 
of  her  impetuous  passage  almost  scared  the  car- 
riage horses  over  the  verge  of  the  steep  hill  ;  and 
still  she  clattered  further,  and  the  crags  re-echoed 
to  her  flight,  and  still  the  groom  flogged  vainly 
in  pursuit.  At  the  fourth  corner  a  woman  trailing 
slowly  up  leaped  back  with  a  loud  cry  and,  by  a 
hand's-breadth,  escaped  death.  But  the  countess 
wasted  neither  glance  nor  thought  upon  that  in- 
cident. Out  and  in,  about  the  bluffs  of  that  steep 
mountain  wall,  she  fled,  loose-reined,  and  still 
the  servant  toiled  in  her  pursuit. 

"  A  most  impulsive  lady,"  said  Sir  John. 
"  Who  would  have  thought  she  cared  for  him  ?  " 
And  before  the  words  were  uttered  he  was  strug- 
gling in  the  prince's  grasp. 

"  My  wife  !    the  princess  ?     What  of  her  ?  " 

"  She  is  down  the  road,"  he  gasped.  "  I  left 
her  twenty  minutes  back." 

And  next  moment  the  choked  author  stood 
alone,  and  the  prince  on  foot  vi'as  racing  down 
the  hill  behind  the  countess. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  267 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BABES    IN    THE  WOODr 

While    the   feet   of   the    prince    continued   to 
run    swiftly,     his  heart,    which   had    at  first    by 
far   outstripped    his    running,    began    to    linger 
and  hang   back.       Not    that    he   ceased  to    pity 
the  misfortune  or  to  yearn  for  the  sight  of  Ser- 
aphina  ;  but  the  memory   of  her  obdurate  cold- 
ness   awoke  within  him,    and  woke  in   turn  his 
own  habitual   diffidence  of  self.      Had  Sir  John 
been    given    time    to   tell  him  all,   had  he    even 
known  that  she  was  speeding  to  the  Felsenburg, 
he  would  have  gone    to  her  with   ardor.      As  it 
was,  he  began  to  see  himself  once  more  intrud- 
ing,  profiting,    perhaps,   by  her    misfortune,   and 
now    that    she    was    fallen,    proffering     unloved 
caresses   to   the    wife  who    had  spurned  him  in 
prosperity.      The   same   spots    upon    his   vanity 
began    to   burn  ;    once  more  his  anger  assumed 
the  carriage  of  a    hostile   generosity  ;  he  would 
utterly  forgive  indeed,  he  would  help,  save  and 
comfort  his  unloving  wife  ;  but  all  with  distant 
self-denial,  imposing  silence  on  his  heart,  respect- 
ing   Seraphina's    disaffection    as    he    would    the 


268  PRINCE   OTTO. 

inocence  of  a  child.  Thus  it  came  about,  that, 
when  at  length  he  turned  a  corner  and  beheld 
that  tattered  princess  toiling-  up  the  hill,  it  was 
his  first  thought  to  reassure  her  of  the  purity  of 
his  respect,  and  he  ceased  at  once  from  running 
and  stood  still.  She,  upon  her  part,  holding  out 
her  arms,  began  to  run  to  him  with  a  little  cry; 
then,  seeing  him  pause,  she  paused  also,  smitten 
with  remorse,  and  at  length,  with  the  most  guilty 
timidity,  walked  nearly  up  to  where  he  stood. 

"  Otto,"  she  said,  "forgive  me  !  I  have  ruined 
all." 

"Oh,  my  wife!  "  he  cried,  with  a  sob,  but  did 
not  move,  partly  withheld  by  his  resolutions, 
partly  struck  stupid  at  the  sight  of  her  weariness 
and  disorder.  Had  she  stood  silent  they  had  soon 
been  locked  in  an  embrace.  But  she  too  had 
prepared  herself  against  the  interview,  and  must 
spoil  the  golden  hour  with  protestations. 

"  All,"  she  went  on,  "  I  have  ruined  all.  But, 
Otto,  in  kindness,  you  must  hear  me — notjustify, 
but  own  my  faults.  I  have  been  taught  so  cruelly  ; 
I  have  had  such  time  for  thought,  and  see  the 
world  so  changed.  T  have  been  blind,  stone- 
blind  ;  I  have  let  all  true  good  go  by  me,  and  still 
lived  on  shadows.  But  when  this  dream  fell,  and 
I  had  betrayed  you,  and  thought  I  had  killed — " 
She  paused.  "  I  thought  I  had  killed  Gondrc- 
niarlc,"  she  said,  with  a  deep  flush,  "  and  I  found 
mvs  >1t"    even  as  you  said,  alone." 


PRINCE   OTTO.  269 

The  mention  of  the  name  of  Gondremark  pricked 
like  a  spur  the  prince's  generosity.  "Well,"  he 
cried,  "and  whose  fault  was  it  but  mine?  It 
was  my  duty  to  be  still  beside  you,  loved  or  not. 
But  1  was  a  skulker  in  the  grain,  and  found  it 
easier  to. desert  than  to  oppose  you.  And  1  went, 
and  left  you  friendless,  and  believed  myself  to  be 
love's  martyr.  And,  dearest,  love  there  was. 
But  I  am  made  so  loosely,  I  could  never  learn 
that  better  part  of  tove,  to  fight  love's  battles. 
Still  I  must  yield,  and  play  the  woman  ;  and  by 
fits,  insult  you — as  I  own  1  did.  But  yet  the  love 
was  there  ;  and  now  when  this  toy  kingdom  has 
come  down,  by  my  demerits  first,  and  next  by 
your  simplicity,  and  we  are  here  alone  together, 
poor  as  Job  and  merely  man  and  woman,  let  me 
conjure  you  to  forgive  the  weakness  and  to  repose 
entirely  in  the  love.  Mistake  me  not  !  "  he  cried, 
seeing  her  about  to  speak  and  imposing  silence 
with  uplifted  hand.  "  ^ly  love  is  changed  ;  is 
purged  of  any  conjugal  pretension  ;  it  does  not 
ask,  not  hope,  not  wish,  for  a  return  in  a  kind. 
You  may  forget  forever  that  part  in  which  you 
found  me  so  distasteful,  and  accept  without  em- 
barrassment the  affection  of  a  brother. " 

"  You  are  too  generous,  Otto,"'  she  said.  '"  I 
know  that  I  have  forfeited  your  love.  I  cannot 
take  this  sacrifice.  You  had  far  better  leave  me. 
Oh,  go  away,  and  leave  me  to  my  fate  !  " 

"Oh,   no,"  said  Otto  ;   "  we    must   first   of  all 


2/0  PRINCE  OTTO. 

escape  out  of  this  hornet's  nest,  to  which  1  led 
you.  My  honor  is  engaged.  I  said  but  now,  we 
were  as  poor  as  Job  ;  and  behold  not  many  miles 
from  here  I  have  a  house  of  my  own  to  which  I 
will  conduct  you.  Otto  the  prince  being  down, 
we  must  try  what  luck  remains  to  Otto  the 
Hunter.  Come,  Seraphina  ;  show  that  you  forgive 
me  (I  do,  if  I  have  anything  to  forgive),  and  let 
us  set  about  this  business  of  escape  in  the  best 
spirits  possible.  You  used  to  say,  my  dear,  that 
except  as  a  husband  and  a  prince  I  was  a  pleasant 
fellow.  I  am  neither  now,  and  you  may  like  my 
company  without  remorse.  Come,  then  ;  it  were 
idle  to  be  captured  ;  can  you  still  walk  ?  " 

"  Otto,  I  can  and  will  do  anything  to  give  you 
pleasure,"  she  said,  with  the  most  unnecessary 
fervor  of  asseveration. 

"  Faith,  then,"  said  he,  and  he  began  to  lead 
the  way. 

A  little  below  where  they  stood,  a  good-sized 
runnel  passed  below  the  road,  which  overleaped 
it  in  a  single  arch.  On  the  one  bank  of  that 
loquacious  water  a  footpath  descended  a  green 
dell.  Here  it  was  rocky  and  stony,  and  lay  on 
the"  steep  scarps  of  the  ravine  ;  here  it  was  choked 
with  brambles  ;  and  there,  in  fairy  haughs,  it  lay 
for  a  few  paces  evenly  on  the  green  turf.  Like  a 
sponge,  the  hill-side  oozed  with  well  water.  The 
burn  kept  growing  both  in  force  and  volume  ;  and 
still,   at  every  leap,    it   fell  with  heavier  plunges 


PRINCE   OTTO.  271 

and  spun  more  widely  in  the  pool.  Great  had 
been  the  labors  of  that  stream,  and  great  and 
agreeable  the  changes  it  had  wrought.  It  had  cut 
through  dykes  of  stubborn  rock,  and  now,  like  a 
blowing  dolphin,  spouted  through  the  orifice  ; 
along  all  its  humble  coasts,  it  had  undermined 
and  rafted-down  the  goodlier  timber  of  the  forest ; 
and  on  these  rough  clearings  it  now  set  and  tended 
primrose  gardens,  and  planted  woods  of  willow, 
and  made  a  favorite  of  the  silver  birch.  Through 
all  these  friendly  features  the  path,  its  human 
acolyte,  conducted  our  two  wanderers  downward. 
Otto,  before,  still  pausing  at  the  steeper  parts  to 
lend  assistance  ;  still,  with  unwelcome  effort, 
making  talk  ;  the  princess  following,  unconsoled. 
From  time  to  time,  when  he  turned  to  help  her, 
hjr  face  would  lighten  upon  his — her  eyes,  half 
desperately,  woo  him.  He  saw,  but  dared  not 
understand.  "  vShe  does  not  love  me,"  he  told 
himself,  with  great  stolidity.  "  This  is  remorse 
or  gratitude  ;  I  were  no  gentleman,  no,  nor  yet  a 
man,  if  I  presumed  upon  these  pitiful  concessions." 
Some  way  down  the  glen,  the  stream,  already 
grown  to  a  good  bulk  of  water,  was  rudely  dammed 
across,  and  about  a  third  of  it  abducted  in  a 
wooden  trough.  Gayly  the  pure  water,  air's  first 
cousin,  fleeted  along  the  rustic  aqueduct,  whose 
sides  and  floor  it  had  made  green  with  grasses. 
The  path,  bearing  it  close  company,  threaded  a 
wilderness  of  brier  and  wild  rose.     And  presently, 


2/2  PRINCE   OTTO. 

a  little  in  front,  the  brown  top  of  a  mill  and  the 
tall  mill-wheel,  spraying  diamonds,  arose  in  the 
narrows  of  the  glen  ;  and  the  snoring  music  of 
the  saws  awoke  the  silence. 

The  miller,  hearing  steps,  came  forth  upon  the 
threshold,  and  at  the  mutual  recognition  both  he 
and  Otto  started. 

"  Good-morning,  miller,''  said  the  prince.  "  You 
were  right,  it  seems,  and  I  was  wrong.  I  give 
you  the  news,  and  bid  you  to  Mittwalden.  My 
throne  has  fallen — great  was  the  fall  of  it  ! — and 
your  good  friends  of  the  Phoenix  bear  the  rule. "' 

The  red-faced  miller  looked  supreme  astonish- 
ment.     "And  your  highness  .''  "  he  gasped. 

"  My  highness  is  running  away,"  replied  Otto, 
"straight  for  the  frontier." 

' '  Leaving  Griinewald  ?  "  cried  the  man.  ' '  Your 
father's  son  .'*     It's  not  to  be  permitted  !  " 

"Do  you  arrest  us,  friend.-'  "  asked  Otto  smil- 


mg. 


"  Arrest  you  .'  I  ?  "  exclaimed  the  man.  "  For 
what  does  your  highness  take  me  !  Why,  sir,  I 
make  sure  there  is  not  a  man  in  Griinewald  would 
lay  hands  upon  you." 

"Oh,  many,  many,"  said  the  prince;  "but 
from  you,  who  were  bold  with  me  in  my  great- 
ness, I  should  even  look  for  aid  in  my  distress." 

The  miller  became  the  color  of  beet  root. 
"You  may  say  so  indeed,"  said  he.  "And  mean- 
while, you  and  your  lady,  step  into  my  house." 


X 


PRINCE   OTTO.  273 

"We  have  not  time  for  that,  "replied  the  prince  ; 
"but  if  you  would  oblige  us  with  a  cup  of  wine 
without  here,  you  will  give  a  pleasure  and  a  serv- 
ice, both  in  one.'" 

>  The  miller  once  more  colored  to  the  nape.  He 
hastened  to  bring  forth  wine  in  a  pitcher  and 
three  bright  crystal  tumblers.  "Your  highness 
must  not  suppose, "  he  said,  "as  he  filled  them, 
' '  that  I  am  an  habitual  drinker.  The  time  when  I 
had  the  misfortune  to  encounter  you,  I  was  a 
trifle  overtaken,  I  allow  ;  but  a  more  sober  man 
than  I  am  in  my  ordinary,  I  do  not  know  where 
you  are  to  look  for  ;  and  even  this  glass  that  I 
drink  to  you  (and  to  the  lady)  is  quite  an  unusual 
recreation. " 

All  drank  to  each  other  in  good  form  ;  and  then 
refusing  further  hospitality,  Otto  and  Seraphina 
once  more  proceeded  to  descend  the  glen,  which 
now  began  to  open  and  to  be  invaded  by  the  taller 
trees. 

"I  owed  that  man  a  reparation,"  said  the 
prince  ;  "for  when  we  met  I  was  not  merely  in 
the  wrong,  but  put  a  sore  affront  upon  him.  I 
judged  by  myself,  perhaps  ;  but  I  begin  to  think 
that  no  one  is  the  better  for  a  humiliation." 

' '  It  was  like  you, "  she  said  ;  ' '  you  are  a  prince 
in  kindliness."  She  looked  at  him,  as  she  said  it, 
with  a  glow  ;  and  Otto  winced. 

"  Do  not  say  such  things  to  me  !  "  he  cried. 

"Otto,"  she  returned,   "I  never  spared  you  the 
18 


274  PRINCE   OTTO. 

bad,  when  I  thought  it.      Now,  when  I   think  all 
good,  shall  I  begin  ?  " 

"Well,  well,"  he  said,  blushing  withal  and 
with  a  mortal  tenderness  at  heart.  "  Well,  well. 
But  let  us  think  of  safety.  My  miller  is  all  very 
good,  but  I  do  not  pin  my  faith  to  him.  To  fol- 
low down  this  stream  will  bring  us,  but  after  in- 
numerable windings,  to  my  house.  Here,  up 
this  glade,  there  lies  a  cross-cut — the  world's-end 
for  solitude — the  very  deer  scarce  visit  it.  Are 
you  too  tired,  or  could  you  pass  that  way.?  " 

"I  would  follow  you  to  the  moon,''  said  Sera- 
phina. 

"No,"  he  replied,  with  a  singular  imbecility  of 
manner  and  appearance,  "but  I  meant  the  path 
was  rough.  It  lies,  all  the  way,  by  glade  and 
dingle,  and  the  dingles  are  both  deep  and  thorny. '' 

"Do  you  take  me  for  so  fine  a  lady  ?"  said  she. 
"I  am  no  more  ;ifraid  of  briers  than  yourself. 
Come,  lead  on  !  Let  us  forget  that  we  were  ever 
princes  ;  I  am  Eve,  you  Adam  ;  you  will  see  that 
I  can  pick  up  my  petticoats  and  jump  a  brook. 
Come;  here  is  open  turf;  let  us  take  hands  and 
run  like  children.'" 

Indeed  they  had  now  burst  across  a  veil  of 
underwood,  and  were  come  into  a  lawn  among 
the  forest,  very  green  and  innocent,  and  solemnly 
surrounded  by  the  trees.  It  seemed  to  invite  glad 
spirits  to  the  games  of  childhood  ;  and  the  prince 
and  princess  did  as  she  proposed.      Tier  hand  lay 


PRINCE   OTTO.  275 

warm  and  moist  and  human  within  his  ;  his  heart 
leaped,  not  with  the  running,  but  this  nearness. 
And  when  they  had  come  to  the  far  end  of  the 
glade,  she  dropped  upon  the  sod,  made  liim  sit 
by  her,  and  still  held  his  hand. 

"Let  us  pretend  that  we  have  never  met,"  she 
said.  "  You  do  not  know,  and  I  will  tell  you  my 
story.  I  was  bewitched  for  years  in  an  enchanted 
palace,  and  at  last  my  prison  (which  was  all  of 
crockery  !)  fell  with  a  crash,  and  I  ran  forth  into 
the  woods.  I  do  not  think  that  I  had  breathed 
before  ;  my  heart  had  been  entirely  dead.  There 
was  a  stream  and  the  moon  shone,  and  then, 
the  most  wonderful  of  all,  dawn  came,  and  I  was 
changed  into  a  living  girl.  That  is  my  tale  ;  tell 
yours." 

"  I  have  not  any,"  replied  Otto,  "but  only 
this,  that  I  was  a  great  fool,  and  am  one  still." 

"Let  me  tell  your  fortune,"  she  said,  looking 
at  his  hand  in  hers.  "  Here  I  see  that  you  will 
always  be  generous,  even  to  the  unworthy  ;  but 
yet  that  you  are  proud  ;  and  you  are  very  worthy 
to  be  loved,  and  will  be  loved  ;  and  you  have 
long  been  misjudged,  but  now  your  friends  adore 
you. " 

' '  Who  does  ?  "   he  asked. 

"All  of  them,"  said  she  ;  and  then  suddenly, 
"Look  round  you  at  this  glade,"  she  cried,  "and 
where  the  leaves  are  coming  on  young  trees,  and 
the  tlowers  begin  to  blossom.     This  is  where  we 


2/6  PRINCE   OTTO. 

meet,  meet  for  the  first  time ;  it  is  so  much  better 
to  forget  and  to  be  born  again.  I  never  saw, 
you  never  knew  me,  till  to-day.  Oh,  what  a  pit 
there  is  for  sins — God's  mercy,  man's  oblivion  ! 
And  then  to  awaken,  grown  man-children.  No, 
we  have  never  met." 

"  Seraphina,"  he  said,  "let  it  be  so,  indeed; 
let  all  that  was  be  merely  the  abuse  of  dreaming; 
let  me  not  have  seen,  not  sought,  not  married, 
not  misused  you  ;  let  me  begin  again,  a  stranger. 
I  have  dreamed,  in  a  long  dream,  that  I  adored 
a  girl,  unkind  and  beautiful  ;  in  all  things  my 
superior,  but  still  cold  like  ice.  And  again  I 
dreamed,  and  thought  she  changed  and  melted, 
glowed  and  turned  to  me.  And  I — who  had  no 
merit  but  a  love,  slavish  and  uncrcct — lay  close, 
and  durst  not  move  for  fear  of  waking. " 

"  Lie  close,"  she  said,  with  a  deep  thrill  of 
speech.  "Stir  not  a  finger,  dear,  or  we  may  both 
awake.  I,  too,  have  dreamed  my  nightmare. 
Now,  as  I  sit  here,  I  begin  to  tell  myself  there 
was  a  prince  in  fairy  tales,  who  loved  a  thing  of 
ice  and  folly  ;  and  under  every  trial,  still  loved 
on  ;  loved  the  ingrate,  the  traitor,  the  insolent — 
and  oh  !  still  loved,  or  so  I  tell  myself  ;  and  when 
a  last  God  sent  a  soul  into  his  froward  mistress, 
his  great  heart  leaped  up,  and  he  forgave  her  all." 

So  they  spake  in  the  spring  woods  ;  and  mean- 
while, in  Mittwalden  Rath-haus,  the  Republic 
was  declared. 


PRINCE   OTTO.  27; 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  POSTSCRIPT. 

TO    COMPLETE    THE    STORY. 

The  reader,  well  informed  in  modern  history, 
will  not  require  details  as  to  the  fate  of  the  Re- 
public. The  best  account  is  to  be  found  in  the  me- 
moirs of  HerrGreisengesang' (7  Bande  :  Leipzig)  by 
our  passing  acquaintance,  the  licentiate  Rcederer. 
Herr  Rcederer,  with  too  much  of  an  author's  li- 
cense, makes  a  great  figure  of  his  hero,  poses  him, 
indeed,  to  be  the  center-piece  and  cloud-compeller 
of  the  whole.  But  with  due  allowance  for  this 
bias,  the  book  is  able  and  complete. 

The  reader  is  of  course  acquainted  with  the 
vigorous  and  bracing  pages  of  Sir  John  (2  vol- 
umes :  London  :  Longman,  Hurst,  Rees,  Orme 
&  Brown).  Sir  John,  who  plays  but  a  toothcomb 
in  the  orchestra  of  this  historical  romance,  blows 
in  his  own  book  the  big  bassoon.  His  character 
is  there  drawn  at  large  ;  and  the  sympathy  of 
Landor  has  countersigned  the  admiration  of  the 
public.  One  point,  however,  calls  for  explana- 
tion :  the  chapter  on  Griinewald  was  torn  by  the 
hand  of  the  author  in  the  palace  gardens  ;  how 
comes  it,  then,  to  figure  at  full  length  among  my 


2/8  PRINCE   OTTO. 

more  modest  pages,  the  Lion  of  the  caravan  ? 
That  eminent  litcratus  was  a  man  of  method  ; 
"Juvenal  by  double  entry,"  he  was  once  pro- 
fanely called  ;  and  when  he  tore  the  sheets  in 
question,  it  was  rather,  as  he  has  since  explained, 
in  the  search  for  some  dramatic  evidence  of  his 
sincerity,  than  with  the  thought  of  practical  de- 
letion. At  that  time,  indeed,  he  was  possessed 
of  two  blotted  scrolls  and  a  fair  copy  in  double. 
But  the  chapter,  as  the  reader  knows,  was  hon- 
estly omitted  from  the  famous  "  Memoirs  on  the 
Various  Courts  of  Europe."  It  has  been  mine  to 
give  it  to  the  public. 

Bibliography  still  helps  us  with  a  further  glimpse 
of  our  characters.  I  have  here  before  me  a  small 
volume  (printed  for  private  circulation  :  no 
printers  name;  n.d.),  "Poesies  par  Frederic  et 
Amelie. "  Mine  is  a  presentation  copy,  obtained 
for  me  by  Mr.  Bain  in  the  Haymarket  ;  and  the 
name  of  the  first  owner  is  written  on  the  fly-leaf 
in  the  hand  of  Prince  Otto  himself  The  modest 
epigraph— "  La  rime  n'est  pas  riche  " — may  be 
attributed,  with  a  good  show  of  likelihood,  to  the 
same  collaborator.  It  is  strikingly  appropriate, 
and  I  have  found  the  volume  very  dreary. 
Those  pieces,  in  which  I  seem  to  trace  the  hand 
of  the  princess,  are  particularly  dull  and  con- 
scientious. But  the  booklet  had  a  fair  success 
with  that  public  for  which  it  was  designed  ;  and 
I  have  come  across  some  evidences  of  a  second 


PRINCE   OTTO.  279 

venture  of  the  same  sort,  now  unprocurable. 
Here,  at  least,  we  may  take  leave  of  Otto  and 
Seraphina — what  do  I  say  ?  of  Frederic  and 
Amelie — ag-ing  together  peaceably  at  the  court  of 
the  wife's  father,  jingling  French  rhymes  and 
correcting  joint  proofs. 

Still  following  the  book-lists,  I  perceive  that 
j\Ir.  Swinburne  has  dedicated  a  rousing  lyric  and 
sixteen  vigorous  sonnets  to  the  memory  of  Gon- 
dremark  ;  that  name  appears  twice  at  least  in 
Victor  Hug-o's  trumpet-blasts  of  patriot-enumera- 
tion ;  and  I  came  latterly,  when  I  supposed  my 
task  already  ended,  on  a  trace  of  the  fallen  politi- 
cian and  his  countess.  It  is  in  the  "  Diary  of  J. 
HoggCotterill,  Esq."  (that  very  interesting  work). 
]Mr.  Cotterill,  being  at  Naples,  is  introduced 
(May  27th)  to  "  a  Baron  and  Baroness  Gondre- 
mark — he,  a  man  who  once  made  a  noise — she 
still  beautiful — both  witty.  She  complimented 
me  much  upon  my  French — should  never  have 
known  me  to  be  English — had  known  my  uncle, 
Sir  John,  in  Germany — recognized  in  me  as  a 
family  trait  some  of  his  grand  air  and  studious 
courtesy — asked  me  to  call."  And  again  (May 
30th):  'Visited  the  Baronne  de  Gondremark — 
much  gratified — a  most  refiried,  mtelligent  woman, 
quite  of  the  old  school,  now  helas  !  extinct — had 
read  my  '  Remarks  on  Sicily  ' — it  reminds  her 
of  my  uncle,  but  with  more  of  grace — I  feared 
she  thought  there  was  less  energy — assured  no — ■ 


280  PRINCE   OTTO. 

a  softer  style  of  presentation,  more  of  the //'/^/-^^ry 
grace,  but  the  same  firm  grasp  of  circumstance 
and  force  of  thought — in  short,  just  Buttonhole's 
opinion.  IMuch  encouraged.  1  have  a  real 
esteem  for  this  patrician  lady."  The  acquaintance 
lasted  some  time  ;  and  when  Mr.  Cotterill  left  in 
the  suite  of  Lord  Protocol,  and,  as  he  is  careful 
to  inform  us,  in  Admiral  Yardarm's  flag-ship,  one 
of  his  chief  causes  of  regret  is  to  leave  "  that 
most  spiritueUe  and  sympathetic  lady,  who  already 
regards  me  as  a  younger  brother." 


THE    END. 


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